Guidelines pop-up stores

The pop-up store was born from a need for experience and entertainment on the part of the consumer and the desire to surprise and create a memory on the part of the brands. By definition, a pop-up store appears and disappears with the idea of creating an ephemeral and unforgettable moment. With the aim of creating an appointment over a limited period , thus creating the effect of exceptional products not to be missed.

In the history of pop-up stores, we're talking about mobile shops. It started with markets and food stalls, such as ice cream vans, fish & chips vans and hot dog vans.

Over the years, brands have drawn inspiration from this practice, and the marketing pop-up store was born in America at the end of the 20th century. Today, the term pop-up store is used to define ephemeral shops set up temporarily by retail brands in empty spaces. According to one study (Challenges, 2018), 150 to 200 pop-up shops take over the centre of Paris every year.

The origins of the pop-up store

Originally, a pop-up store is an ephemeral shop with a small surface area that can be set up and dismantled very quickly using a lightweight structure specially designed for this type of concept. By definition, street vendors and their stalls are considered pop-up stores. Markets, hot-dog stands, ice-cream vans and so on are the very origins of the principle of quickly setting up products in a particular place for a set period of time and then packing them back up just as quickly. Over the centuries, the pop-up store has been completely reinvented. The concept took shape in America in the late 90s before arriving in Europe. Today, the pop-up store is a real marketing asset for a brand and a rich experience in the eyes of consumers.

The evolution of the pop-up store

The reinvention of the pop-up store has made history in America, on the West Coast. Back in the 80s, Nicolas Hayek, the creator and innovator of the Swatch watch, took advantage of major events to pop in with his products, his only marketing idea being: "we come to make noise, then we leave". It was thanks to The Ritual Expo, held in Los Angeles in 1997, that the pop-up store was democratised. This event, which featured street culture artists and performers such as urban dancers and rap artists, inspired major American companies who found the concept original. And in the 2000s, this concept called "pop up store" made its appearance and was democratised.

This concept was later taken up by major retailers such as Walmart, Target and JCPenney, who were already looking for appropriate ways to highlight their brands and products through new marketing strategies. The idea was to create a moment of 'ephemeral buzz' to surprise customers, and all consumer sectors were quick to embrace it. From that moment on, and with the idea of being ever more surprising, a trend was born: to make customers experience an unforgettable and unique moment.

First pop-up store in Europe: Nike

Overall, the 2000s were a landmark year for the pop-up store market. The arrival of pop-up shops in Europe was marked by the famous sports brand Nike. The brand took advantage of the Beijing Olympics to open pop-up stores in seven different cities during the summer of 2008. By combining an exceptional location (a pop-up store on board a barge for the city of Paris) with a very limited selection of products and a series of events (visits from athletes and celebrities), Nike created an exceptional experience for consumers, and its concept quickly inspired luxury brands and the fashion world. Other consumer sectors soon followed, including food brands and companies such as SNCF.

The impact of Comme des garçons on the pop-up store

The Japanese brand Comme des Garçons, founded by the famous designer Rei Kawakubo, has also been inspired by the marketing strategy of pop-up stores. When it opened its first short-lived shop in Berlin, Germany, in 2004, the brand named its shops "Guerilla stores" and achieved great success with a strategy all its own. Focusing on layout and location, Comme des Garçons sets up shop in places with no electricity and sometimes even in abandoned buildings. The staging was spectacular, to say the least, and won unanimous approval from consumers looking for originality. Very quickly, the clothing brand saw "Guerilla stores" spring up in several European cities and experienced a surprising marketing buzz.

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Sources:

definitions-marketing

toute-la-franchise

Fashion Industry Broadcast

Capital - La grande mode des boutiques éphémères

Mypopupstore

Hypebeast