Pop-up store

Collaboration Inspiration

Business of Fashion (2022) describes “Anya Hindmarch as a British accessories designer whose creations have become easily recognisable thanks to her vibrant, playful designs”. A campaign that she created as a “love letter to london” involved placement of colosal heart shaped red balloons located in landmarks across the city. This campaign was conducted over valentines day which obviously aligns perectly to the concept. The campaign was first launched in 2018 and was repeated in 2019 during London Fashion Week. Hinchman was asked why the campaign was run again with that she responded, “We have been overwhelmed with people asking us to run the campaign again from all over the world. This time, it marks the beginning of an international chubby hearts project to spread the love from London to other cities later in the year.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan shared his views on the campaign. “I’m delighted to see the chubby hearts return to the capital. It sends a clear signal around the world that London is open to creativity and talent, and always will be” (Newbold, 2019).

The way in which the campaign has a narrative and aim that is not just to raise awareness of the brand or to sell products but to spread love and positivity is something which could be implemented into the ‘Heart Eyes for You’ campaign. Launching the campaign around Valentine’s Day is also clever as it links the sea-son with the narrative campaign. Pop-up stores have been proven to be a beneficial way in which brands can engage with their customers, boost brand awareness, and receive feedback. Although a pop-up could be a key promotional tool for a brand and their campaign, they are a complex and time-consuming task to prepare and execute, a venue needs to be chosen or built, promotion is needed as well as evaluating and measurement of success. Pop-up shops create a sense of scarcity as they are temporary stores which create an automatic buzz and urgency for customers to visit the popup. (Decker, 2021). “Short-time pop-up stores usually work for creating amazing customer experiences, as these should be an impactful perspective of the brand identity” (Kundicevic, 2022).

The timing is important when considering a pop-up store opening as you need to maximise the number of customers that will enter the popup or the footfall in the area. Factors that need to be considered are school holidays, bank holidays, seasons and the fashion week calendar (Kundicevic, 2022).

Even though ecommerce and online marketing has been seen to be the most engaged tool for fashion brands at present and predicted to continue, shop presence and a physical experience is still important to some customers and can create an innovative way in which to promote. A pop-up allows retailers that only trade only to engage with their consumers on a more personal level, it also allows the customer to connect with the brands narrative and aesthetic at a deeper level. Additionally pop-up stores allow customer to see products in the flesh and give feedback on merchandising.

Pop-up stores also allow brands to experiment with physical trading if they are considering opening a brick-and-mortar store. This could apply trialling to a new product line, a new target audience, new pricing, product bundles and merchandising ideas, allowing a brand to analyse the success of a potential permanent store.

“According to CRBE, in 2021 the commercial rent has dropped by as much as 37.5% in parts of popular retail areas like New York City.” Therefore, the ability and cost to create a pop-up tied in with a campaign may be a good option for a brand or brand collaboration such as Jacquemus and COMME des GARCON PLAY to market (Decker, 2021).

Figure 42: Anya Hindmarch Chubby Heart in London

Figure 43: Anya Hindmarch Chubby Heart campaign promotion

pop-up Store

Appendix h

The rise in Pop-Ip Stores

Pop-up stores are becoming an important asset within the growth of a brand. According to PopUp rental comapny, Appear Here, Pop-Up’s have increased in demand by 300% from 2018 with 300 Pop-Ups a month opening across London. “PopUps are a great way to experiment with playful store design, to drive hype, and to respond to cultural shifts or trends that connect authentically.” Pop-Ups are used as retail playgrounds by brands to “offer experimental, immersive and discovery-led experiences which create emotional connections with shoppers.”

Colour Play Instagramable spaces for brand Pop-Ups have become popular as they are memroble and are a perfect places for content creation when customers visit. “The ephemeral nature of a pop-up means that the bolder and more attention-grabbing the colour is, the more people will be inclined to snap and share it, driving hype around its opening. As well as translating well into onscreen visuals, unique colour applications can also influence a customer’s mood and feelings – particularly positivity-inducing or soothing shades.”

Unique Format “New and novel pop-up formats are a great way to offer an immersive experience that drives traffic and creates hype. For brands looking to reach younger shoppers and retain shoppers’ interest, consider fun, temporary formats which speak to current trends, or are based around popular events.” Socially-driven causes “In an age of diversifying populations and heightened sensitivity, inclusive retail strategies are more important than ever. Brands and retailers should consider using temporary space to demonstrate messages of radical inclusivity, going the extra mile to resonate with underrepresented communities. Brands who are considering socially-driven pop-up stores must be mindful not to be seen to be jumping on the bandwagon, amid ongoing backlash against corporate woke-washing. Failing to carry out these initiatives in an authentic way will make them look like tokenism, so be sure to use pop-up spaces as hubs that demonstrate real commitment to causes, by hosting mission-based events or educational workshops that build community and create loyal brand advocates.”

Collecting data “Pop-up stores offer retailers the chance to collect data in ways that they couldn’t online – through real-life, face-to-face interactions. While apps and websites are highly valuable for gathering customer data, pop-up scenarios help retailers to understand their customers better, as they often draw out deeper insights based on customer interactions within quirky, playful environments.”

Merging online and offline “Merging the physical and digital shopping experiences is a key strategy for brands looking to engage shoppers who like to shop across platforms, especially Gen Z, who like to do their research online, and then shop in-store” (wgsn, 2022). 54 Louis Vuitton

Prada

Figure 45: Retail Footfall

Hyperphysical Stores Many luxury brands are introducing the Hyperphysical store into their brand strategy. “The macro trend was identified by The Future Laboratory, a trends and strategy company, to describe retail spaces that are enriching and emotional. They create a sensorial and holistically memorable store experience that goes beyond the original idea of retail, says Abi Buller, foresight analyst at The Future Laboratory”.

“Hyperphysical retail at its simplest is multisensory. It leans into the five senses of sight, sound, touch and potentially even smell and taste. That essentially captures what it means to be human,” says Jacqueline Windsor, UK retail leader at PwC and a partner in the Strategy& Deals team. “These pop-ups are a manifestation of that and are in response to the other side of the coin, which is digital and the rise of the metaverse, a parallel universe where consumers can increasingly socialise, work, shop and play.” “Jacquemus have used hyperphysical retail to energise the brand’s presence in the UK market, which, Simon Porte Jacquemus tells Vogue Business, is very important for the brand. [It’s why] we created several experiences at Selfridges. We wanted to create strong visuals and surprising settings for our customers. I love to play with concepts, especially those that relate to buying and retail experience. With the opening of Jacquemus 24/24 in Paris, Milan and now London, I hope to disrupt and create a unique Jacquemus experience.”

Other luxury brands such as Balenciaga have introduced a hyperphysical store. The brand opened pop-ups in London and Bangkok for the Le Cagole it-handbag (worn by Kim Kardashian in the brand’s most recent campaign). The store was displayed with a shaggy pink faux fur that covering the floor, walls, chairs, and shelves.

“Some 56 per cent of global Gen Z shoppers head to physical stores for a fun experience, according to a 2018 survey by IBM and the National Retail Federation, which interviewed 15,600 global consumers between the ages of 13 and 21.” “Retailers are facing significant challenges as consumer confidence fell to its lowest levels since 2008.” Therefore, it is important for retailers use innovative methods to engage their customers and bring them into their store through more than just selling a product.

Sales don’t necessarily drive these sensorial pop-ups. Jacquemus stated on his Instagram story that “It’s not just about buying, it’s also an experience, a concept. The idea is to break the frontiers in the world of luxury. We want you to come in feeling welcome and have a great experience no matter what you do inside. You can also just walk in and take a picture. This is Jacquemus” (Chitrakorn, 2022).

Jacquemus Primary research

Figure 46: Jacquemus- Selfridges Primary Images To expose myself to the current visual mechanising that Jacquemus is expressing I visited Selfridges to take inspiration for the collaboration pop-up. Jacquemus uses a neutral base colour for their pop-up with the products bringing the bright vibrant colours. For this current campaign they are using wicker baskets, pampas grass, stone, and wood to create a field aesthetic which corelates with their Instagram. Previous Jacquemus pop-up stores: Jacquemus is not shy to create a pop-up store with opening short term exclusive pop-up stores around the world. Between March 27 and April 3 Jacquemus launched a Flower Pop named Les Fleurs. Simon Porte “Jacquemus teamed up with the family horticultural business Les Fleurs de Paul and the Yoann & Marco agency”. The pop-up took a different approach to a fashion pop-up with a floral arrangement service to click and collect or to be delivered to a home address. Simon Jacquemus said “I've always been passionate about flowers, and they are a continual source of inspiration for me whilst I am designing my collections. I also wanted to share something other than clothes during this particular period”. The pop-up explored a deeper meaning beyond Simon’s love for flowers as it allowed him to promote responsible manufacturing methods and encourage up-cycling. Each bunch of flowers were wrapped in unique fabric from previous Jacequemus collections, this gave the materials a second life. “I've always dreamed of having a Jacquemus flower shop. The idea of this pop-up shop came naturally with my horticulturist friends at Fleurs de Paul, the Abeille family, and the Yoann and Marco agency,” said Simon Porte Jacquemus (SALESSY, 2021).

Paris has recently launched a pop-up store in Rue de Richelieu, Paris named Jacquemus 24/24, for only three days, 24 hours a day. Th pop-up was created to promote the pink Bambino long bag with all the stores being covered in the hot pink colour. The store was very plain and basic however coloured in pink, the interior was filled with vending machines, which references Japan’s convenience store and side street snack bars in Amsterdam (Andreas, 2021). The pop-up store only sold pink products from the Jacquemus Pink 2 Capsule collection which included, bucket hats, scarves, and the Rond Carré candle, a collaboration with Belgian artist Ann Vincent that was limited. “After completing the credit card-only transaction, customers receive a locker number and the code to unlock the door to get their prize. Behind the scenes, regular refills will ensure items remain available for the duration of the pop-up” (Templeton, 2021). In 2022 Jacquemus revealed another pop-up store in the location of Palazzo Clerici, Milan during fashion week. The pop-up mirrored the all pink 24/24 in Paris but replaced the pink with white. The new La Vague bag was sold along with the iconic Bambino and Sweatshirt Brodé (NSS, 2022).

Figure 47: Jacquemus Flower Pop-Up Store