Comments on: The (un)sustainability of pop-up retail: Downtown Portland, Oregon http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/ Semiosis Communications: Sustainable marketing for people, planet, and prosperity Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:54:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Peter Korchnak http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/comment-page-1/#comment-4100 Peter Korchnak Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:34:07 +0000 http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/?p=4393#comment-4100 @Kelly: Good points and thanks for shedding some light into the hidden aspects of pop-up retail. The more pop-up stores there are, the more the list of disadvantages grows. Perhaps the novelty element will run its course sooner rather than later... @Kelly: Good points and thanks for shedding some light into the hidden aspects of pop-up retail. The more pop-up stores there are, the more the list of disadvantages grows. Perhaps the novelty element will run its course sooner rather than later…

]]> By: Kelly http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/comment-page-1/#comment-4099 Kelly Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:26:16 +0000 http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/?p=4393#comment-4099 While there are aspects of the pop-up store concept that I like, I also believe they have considerable drawbacks. For one, the negotiation process for a temporary lease for a pop-up store can require as much work as for a more permanent operation - the result is that they take valuable time away from finding appropriate long-term prospects for a space. And pop-ups can create image problems - much of the public may be unaware that the stores are meant to be temporary, so when the spaces go dark after a few months people think the area doesn't work for retail. While there are aspects of the pop-up store concept that I like, I also believe they have considerable drawbacks. For one, the negotiation process for a temporary lease for a pop-up store can require as much work as for a more permanent operation – the result is that they take valuable time away from finding appropriate long-term prospects for a space. And pop-ups can create image problems – much of the public may be unaware that the stores are meant to be temporary, so when the spaces go dark after a few months people think the area doesn’t work for retail.

]]> By: Peter Korchnak http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/comment-page-1/#comment-4089 Peter Korchnak Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:05 +0000 http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/?p=4393#comment-4089 @Matt: Pop-ups can certainly serve to test product feasibility and research markets. However, the move from street vendor to brick-and-mortar sounds like a giant leap, particularly for "small craftsman entrepreneurs". The desire to have one's own store is understandable. But once the novelty of the product in a market expires, the aspiring entrepreneur may be left with a lease and a staff and many other expenses running a retail operation requires. As with my other objections to pop-up retail, it's a short-term tactic at best. Safer and cheaper ways to increase sales exist that would allow easing into retail: online stores (the eBays and Etsys of the world); consignment stores; reselling through existing retail stores that source locally... @Matt: Pop-ups can certainly serve to test product feasibility and research markets. However, the move from street vendor to brick-and-mortar sounds like a giant leap, particularly for “small craftsman entrepreneurs”. The desire to have one’s own store is understandable. But once the novelty of the product in a market expires, the aspiring entrepreneur may be left with a lease and a staff and many other expenses running a retail operation requires. As with my other objections to pop-up retail, it’s a short-term tactic at best.

Safer and cheaper ways to increase sales exist that would allow easing into retail: online stores (the eBays and Etsys of the world); consignment stores; reselling through existing retail stores that source locally…

]]> By: Matt http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/comment-page-1/#comment-4087 Matt Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:13:08 +0000 http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/?p=4393#comment-4087 I'd like to put one theory forward of why pop-ups are actually part of the sustainability movement: Viability. I work with a lot of small craftsman entrepreneurs who are involved in producing, direct selling, and distributing their goods. They often originate their businesses with trunk shows or markets or festivals or the like. After an initial modicum of success, they all want to get their own shop. Pop-up serves this bridge well. It prevents many entrepreneurs from taking too heavy a risk investment while giving them the opportunity to determine if their goods truly can capitalize on a retail shop of if another distribution strategy is more appropriate. The downside of pop-up, to me, is the projectibility to future spaces. Because so much of retail is location-location-location, success in a pop-up may be more due to exogenous variables than those the entrepreneur is truly responsible for. I’d like to put one theory forward of why pop-ups are actually part of the sustainability movement: Viability.

I work with a lot of small craftsman entrepreneurs who are involved in producing, direct selling, and distributing their goods. They often originate their businesses with trunk shows or markets or festivals or the like. After an initial modicum of success, they all want to get their own shop. Pop-up serves this bridge well. It prevents many entrepreneurs from taking too heavy a risk investment while giving them the opportunity to determine if their goods truly can capitalize on a retail shop of if another distribution strategy is more appropriate. The downside of pop-up, to me, is the projectibility to future spaces. Because so much of retail is location-location-location, success in a pop-up may be more due to exogenous variables than those the entrepreneur is truly responsible for.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/unsustainability-of-pop-up-retail/comment-page-1/#comment-4078 uberVU - social comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:36:51 +0000 http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/?p=4393#comment-4078 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lohas_de: The (un)sustainability of pop-up retail: Downtown Portland, Oregon: The latest Portland Development Commission e-ne... http://bit.ly/74JgBY... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lohas_de: The (un)sustainability of pop-up retail: Downtown Portland, Oregon: The latest Portland Development Commission e-ne… http://bit.ly/74JgBY...

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