Best Buy Company, Inc., may not have plans to partner with Google for a store-within-a-store concept, but the company is hiring for new Google sales specialist positions at locations nationwide.
 
Google recently denied rumors that it would open 6,000-square-foot mini-stores within Best Buy locations, also mentioning that Google Glass would not come to Best Buy in 2014, despite earlier speculation.
 
But third-party, part-time Google sales specialists will be stationed at approximately 350 Best Buy stores to discuss Google products and programs (including Chromebook, Google+, and Gmail, among others) with customers. The new Google sales specialists will begin working at Best Buy stores on September 29, according to a third-party website seeking applications for the positions.
 
Best Buy spokesman Jon Sandler declined to disclose how many of the new specialists the company is planning to hire and when the hiring process will take place. He told Twin Cities Business that the hiring of the Google sales specialists is “standard procedure” for Best Buy, similar to the company adding trained sales associates for its other in-store partnerships, which include Samsung and Microsoft Windows. 

“We have product specialists throughout our stores—it’s part of our Renew Blue transformation, which includes reinvigorating the customer experience and partnering with our vendors,” Sandler said.
 
Best Buy also partnered with Google in 2010, when it became the only U.S. retailer to carry the Google smart phone, Nexus S, which Google co-developed with Samsung.
 
Best Buy recently reported an increase in second-quarter earnings, saying that net earnings totaled $266 million for the quarter that ended August 3—a dramatic increase from $12 million during the same period a year ago. The retailer is Minnesota’s third largest public company based on revenue, which totaled $44 billion for the fiscal year that ended February 2.