Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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POP-UPS 284 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • May 2017 square foot," Kelleher says. "We don't have anything like that. The consideration is — who is the retailer? How big are they? What size space do they want and for how long? What I don't want to have happen is to lose a really cool product because I'm $500 more than they could afford." Ease of entry also includes one access point for pop-up retailers. So if a retailer wants to lease in three different cities, he or she will only have to talk to one person. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT At Brookfield Place, owned by Brook- field Asset Management, pop-ups fit seam- lessly into the artfully designed retail area of the shopping center and office com- plex in lower Manhattan. Pop-ups there essentially fall into one of two categories: sales driven or promotions driven, with leases lasting anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year. "There are a lot of up and coming con- cepts that are successful online or they're successful through a local community or low cost store," says Mark Kostic, vice president of retail leasing for the U.S. Office Division of Brookfield Property Partners. "And they're looking to test the commercial market but don't have the capital or operational background to sign a 10-year lease on a corner in Manhattan. We've also seen national brands wanting to do things outside their store." Brookfield has partnered with Warby Parker, for example, to do a "readery" con- cept, which is like a micro store that sells a few hundred pairs of glasses. Warby Park- er describes its readery as a "1960s-style newsstand stocked with books, postcards and a curated collection of eyewear." Another popular pop-up at Brookfield Place also takes creative inspiration from newsstands of yesteryear in a concept called The New Stand that stocks maga- zines, healthy snacks and drinks and es- sentials for commuters, but also throws in some unique seasonally inspired products or whimsical art or home décor items that fall under the you-didn't-even-know-you- needed-that category. Brookfield recently partnered with a London-based company called Appear Here, a matching service enabling up- and-coming pop-up merchants to shop available space for lease in multiple cities and select the location and pricing that would work best for their business. "I think we're one of the first stateside to partner with them on this platform," Kostic says. "We have an agreement and standard template with Appear Here, so if a brand is interested, it comes to us for approval. It's a very streamlined template that is simple and makes it easier for every- one to come in and plug and play quick- ly. We're mainly looking to make sure the merchandise is in line with the first class nature of Brookfield Place. We like it to be design-focused, and we like the idea of having brands test things here. That's another reason to come and have much more than a shopping experience. It's about lifestyle and about spending time here." MADE BY HAND, WITH LOVE The Street in Chestnut Hill, Massachu- setts, is a lifestyle center owned by WS Development with 467,000 square feet of GLA and tenants that include Shake Shack, Aquitaine, SuperLux Cinema, Jon- athan Adler, Juice Press, Calypso, Porto- bello Road and Blue Mercury. Addition- ally, The Street also markets its rotating pop-up program, which has taken a few new turns recently. The Street has hosted 12 different pop- ups and 20 different brands since Novem- ber 2015. In February 2017, it debuted a concept called the Pop-Up Makery, an in-line space that re-invited some of its more successful past pop-ups to create a temporary interactive experience with a new merchant almost daily. Sample classes are The Click Work- shop, an introduction to photography by award-winning photographer Michelle Symonds. The Third Piece is a small busi- ness providing the instruction and materi- als for students to create their own luxury knit-wear. And The Paint Bar and Sip & Script give participants a chance to create their own works of art using step-by-step instruction. "All of the classes have sold out," says Sherri D'Alessandro, field marketing di- rector for WS Development. "We're see- ing a number of guests coming back on a daily basis. We're supporting local busi- nesses and we're introducing shoppers to something new and exciting." The CommonWealth Kitchen is an- other unique concept that is open April 7 to May 31 at The Street. It's a business based in Dorchester, Massachusetts, that enables young chefs of varied socio-eco- nomic backgrounds to start their own businesses. CommonWealth Kitchen moved into an end cap at The Street and features a marketplace of goods from some of its en- trepreneurial companies as well as onsite dining. Seventy-five percent of Common- Wealth Kitchen's businesses are women or minority owned. WS Development's The Street in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, has a concept called the Pop-Up Makery, an inline space that rotates pop-up retailers often.