Pop-Up Stores still Popping Up

In the midst of the recession, pop-up shops are being viewed as a logical and inexpensive marketing tool to build buzz.

Temporary stores have been popping up with some regularity since 2003, but pricey rents and a lack of available space made them a major investment. Now temporary stores have emerged as a perfect solution for cash-strapped brands, commission-hungry brokers and landlords faced with a glut of commercial real estate space. Brands are using these interim spaces as a means to create buzz, test new concepts or even evaluate a new neighborhood or city. Recently, high-end brands including Hermes, Emilio Pucci and La Perla have embraced the pop-up-shop (or should we say boutique?) concept, as have Gap, Seven For All Mankind, Daffy’s and others. But it’s not just limited to fashion brands. Furniture designer Kenyan Lewis, wine bar MADCrush, chef Tom Colicchio, and the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism have also jumped on the bandwagon.

The word on the street is that the next pop-up iteration has emerged: Planeshop is a new Airport retailing concept and experience opening in the UK- a permanent shop with a flexible retailing concept. Brands will take over the Glasgow airport store for a limited time, which includes changing the shop’s exterior graphics to match their identity. Also available at Planeshop will be Planemix, a downloadable selection of global digital music tracks that rotates each month, and “Foodflight,” a selection of tapas and sangria for takeout or in-store dining.

This will be one to watch….