Luxury brands are increasing the number of pop up stores they are opening.
Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel are among major brands plotting such retail ventures in the coming months, characterizing them as a way to tap into a new customer base, create excitement — and capture extra sales in a tough economy.
"Even if it has been done to address a problem, it can become an opportunity," said Patrick Thomas, chief executive officer at Hermes International, which on Wednesday will open at 63 Main Street in East Hampton, N.Y., for a four-month stint. "It's also a very interesting way to talk to new categories of customers."
Thomas was mum on details, but Hermes is said to be mulling three or four such temporary locations this year, including in Europe. "If we open a temporary store, it's a way to check: Do we have customers in that area or not?" he explained. "It's a good way to put a toe in the market."
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Vuitton, which opened a temporary store in Tokyo last winter to showcase a collaboration with Comme des Garçons and its iconoclastic designer Rei Kawakubo, will open another time-limited retail venture in the Japanese capital later this month while the French brand awaits a permanent location at the new Seibu Ikebukuro department store in 2010.
The temporary store will look the part: surrounded by scaffolding, wrapped in white mesh and with a raw interior with sections defined by stacked wooden crates (although the products themselves will sit on elegant, padded shelves).
The luxury pop up store is a very strong trend for this summer. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if it just dies out next year.
