Retail Pop-up Shops

-USA, Nationwide

In Praise of the Pop-up Shop

Back in 2004 Comme des Garçons opened the first of their ‘Guerrilla’ stores in Berlin. The Guerrilla stores' aim is to be open for only one year and to spend a minimal amount on the build out costs. As related to the original use of the war-term these shops would possess “aggressive mobility”.

The result was a great success and many locations followed around the globe. I visited Comme des Garçons in Kyoto and just by entering this unusual space it felt like I was witnessing a paradigm shift of the new retail landscape. The interior was a bit like a fun-house maze for small scaled people. The floor was constructed of simple plywood that bounced and made a lot of noise as you walked about and browsed merchandise not found anywhere else. It was one of the most exciting shopping experiences and I did leave with one of the signature shirts; an artifact of fashion history so to speak.

This concept has been very popular as we approach 4th quarter and many store fronts that have been vacant and are now being filled on short-term leases in great numbers. Instead of a five or ten year commitment, now retailers are able to set up shop for as little as a month or less. With such a reduced risk comes an ability to experiment and bring some fun back into shopping.

According to the LA Times ( Oct.17 ) Toys R Us has jumped onto the concept and will have dozens of ‘Holiday Express’ Pop-up shops open this year. The luxury denim retailer 7 For All Mankind launched a new test concept called “Wash House” on Boston’s Newbury Street earlier this year with plans to explore a more permanent location later.

In the sleepy Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles there are a number of small Pop-ups that fill a once vacant bookstore. These help restore an active down-town feeling to the main street. We all can learn something from shopping these temporary locations. Maybe retail design as a whole can be liberated from generic same-ness and help restore what was once a great American past-time.

The full Times article can be found here ( paste into browser )
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pop-up17-2009oct17,0,6635106.story