Now you see it, now you don't. Pop-up stores - shops that sell goods for a limited period of time - are taking the retail world by storm. By Melissa Lwee
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ONE moment it's an empty store or land space and the next, it is a buzzing hub of activity with merchandise and services on offer and customers galore. But wait a few months or even a few days and suddenly it's empty space again.
Welcome to the world of pop-up stores - temporary shops that usually
sell goods for a limited period of time - that has taken the retail
world by storm. In 2004, Japanese fashion label Commes des Garçons
started the trend by opening (and subsequently closing) a series of
'guerilla' stores worldwide each lasting no more than a year. Singapore
was privy to this when one such boutique sprouted in Bukit Merah in
2006. Subsequently, the world went pop-up frenzy. In 2007,
American retail store Target opened a four-day store in Manhattan to
sell clothing from Proenza Schouler at discounted prices; Monocle
magazine's editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé opened a pop-up store in London
last year for five months selling Monocle magazines and gifts;
champagne house Moët & Chandon opened its first British pop-up
store last winter selling bottles customised with Swarovski (in
Singapore, a pop-up concession stand at The Link was set up for two
months for the same purpose) and even Topshop in London announced the
arrival of a pop-up boutique in February hosting a range of
international designers for eight weeks. What few people know
though, is that the pop-up store concept is not new in Singapore and
has been used to great effect locally, albeit less frequently.
In 2006, the now defunct boutique Venue Asia came up with the idea of
Venue Box - a compact 30 sq m portable fashion store unit that was
taken to 16 different locations around Singapore and Malaysia to sell
their wares. 'As a retailer, the biggest problem was having to
open a new boutique everytime a new mall was launched in order to stay
competitive but I found that to make little economic sense,' says
Venue's founder Alexander Hashcher. 'When I was looking for a
location at VivoCity, we passed by the port and when I saw all the
containers, I thought, hey, these containers can be used to create
mobile shops wherever I want without having to commit to a property
lease as long as there is an appropriate empty space and I got the
relevant permits. 'I could also choose to open when business
was good like the Great Singapore Sale season and close when business
was not which meant flexibility.' The concept so impressed
Ferrari that the car manufacturer commissioned Mr Hascher to build them
a roving showroom that travels with the team at the various Grand Prix.
This prompted Mr Hascher and two other partners Gerhard Lanyi and
Markus Krill to start Grandstand, a company that designs, builds and
operates mobile venues out of container sized structures. Each
structure costs roughly $2,000 per sq m to build. The
company's latest projects include the mobile Aqua Bar launched during
the Grand Prix last year that spent five months at Clarke Quay (next to
be seen at Sentosa) and a roving showroom/bar that Nokia has been using
around Singapore for various events including Zouk Out. The way to go
Mr Hascher adds that pop-up stores are the future not just because of
their flexibility but also because it appeals to a consumer market that
is spoilt for choice. 'The more trendy a market gets, the less
loyal consumers are to brands. With so many shopping malls around now,
it is difficult to ensure return visits,' explains Mr Hascher's partner
Gerhard Lanyi. 'But, it's a different story altogether if you
open a shop just outside their doorstep like a plot of land in a
housing estate. If they won't come to you, you go to them! It also
doubles up as a roving billboard making it an effective advertising
tool as well.' Agrees Dr Seshan Ramaswami, practice associate
professor of marketing at Singapore Management University: 'The most
appealing aspect of a pop-up store is its novelty and its scarcity -
that the store is unusual, and there is a chance of picking up
something that not many other consumers might have a chance to buy. On
the manufacturer's side, the concept allows for a very targeted
marketing programme in terms of both space and time. 'A
manufacturer has more control over the distribution channel when it
runs its own store or stall temporarily. This is true especially for
items which need specialised set-up or displays which may otherwise
clash with the decor or ambience of a department store.'
Inspired by the popularity of their pop-up venues, Grandstand is now
looking to expand its services to include the leasing of these pop-up
stores by building more mobile containers that can later be mixed and
matched accordingly, not unlike Lego models. What this means for
potential retailers - both local and international - is the ability to
do market research and test the local market without signing a
permanent property lease. A British noodle chain for example, is
considering using Grandstand's pop-up store concept to do a test run in
Singapore before deciding whether to open shop here. More joining in
The ability to test run a label is also the reason why retail
consultant and fashion wholesaler Glamour Inc is hopping onto the
pop-up store bandwagon. They are hoping to work with local
retailers to set up pop-up shops within existing shops showcasing and
selling new labels brought in by Glamour Inc seasonally. 'In our
showroom we have a range of 20 to 30 designers focusing on the latest
fashion trends. From these, retailers can pick what collections they
like to suit their own retail styles to showcase and create a fashion
moment in the store,' says its spokeswoman Cary Cheng. 'We feel
that this will assist the retailers (our client) in showcasing new
products, new concepts and is especially useful for retailers to test
the waters before committing to a new programme of products.' Interestingly, the pop-up phenomenon has even gone digital. Local fashion blog Fashion Nation (http://fashionation.wordpress.com/) launched a pop-up store called Store Nation on their website in January.
'Everytime we have a new collection to sell, we put up a notice one or
two days in advance,' reveals Fashion Nation's blogger Stephie Tan.
'On the day of the sale itself, we put up a link to a shop site that
will open only for a limited period of time. When it's meant to close,
it will close, regardless of sales.' According to Ms Tan, the
shop focuses on unique finds and independent labels with an upcoming
third collection that will feature a fresh Indonesian designer. She
added that the decision to start the store online has the extra
advantage of being able to service international clients who would not
be able to enjoy Shop Nation if it were physical. 'The pop-up
store concept works on massclusivity. It is exclusive for a time period
but everybody can have access to it,' she says. 'It is also good
for us in terms of customer service. Because there are only two of us,
if we opened an online shop, it would take us awhile to respond to all
queries. But, with a pop-up shop, the fact that it is only open for a
short period of time means that we know when to focus all our manpower,
responding to queries as promptly as possible.' 
TRAVELLING SHOW
Nokia has been using a roving showroom/bar for various events around Singapore including Zouk Out
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