Inside the Pop-up Economy

几千块就能开家小店？英国出现“快闪店”电商平台

 

In the dirge of news about retail failure, where once impregnable institutions like House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer are now husks of their former selves, the high street would seem to be in mortal danger. Right? Wrong, says Ross Bailey, a 26-year-old retail entrepreneur: “The problem is that most high-street stores are crap.”

 

零售企业纷纷倒下。曾经坚不可摧的House of Fraser和马莎百货（Marks and Spencer）如今都只剩下一具躯壳。挽歌唱响，高街零售业似乎走到了生死关头。难道不对吗？当然不对！在26岁的零售企业家罗斯·贝利（Ross Bailey）看来，“问题出在大多数高街百货商店品质堪忧。”

 

Lest we forget, 90 per cent of sales are still made in bricks-and-mortar buildings. But shorter leases, changing consumer loyalties and online stores have changed the way we shop. And traditional stores are increasingly being replaced by more short-term “pop-up” solutions.

 

先提醒一句，目前社会消费品销售总额的90%仍是在实体店完成的。但随着商铺租约的缩短，消费者忠诚度不断变化，加上电商的发展，我们的购物方式也在改变。此外，传统商店正逐步让位于经营期限更短的“快闪”（Pop-up）模式。

 

“The death of the high street is grossly exaggerated,” Bailey continues. “It dies when it’s homogenous and uninteresting. When it’s done right, it’s a totally different story.”

 

“高街的衰亡被过分夸大了。”贝利接着说道，“如果高街零售商继续同质化经营和无趣，消亡是不可避免的。但如果经营得当，情况会完全不同。”

 

In 2012, Bailey founded Appear Here, an online marketplace for short-term retail designed to disrupt the commercial space. Brands go to the website to search for a space, book a time slot and earmark a budget and then Appear Here connects them with a landlord.

 

2012年，贝利创建了零售商铺短租平台Appear Here，旨在颠覆商业地产市场。品牌可以通过该平台搜索场地，列出时间段和预算，而Appear Here则会为他们介绍房东。

 

If the brand and the landlord are a match, the deal goes ahead. Some shops pop up for only a week, others rent for years – either way, it’s a “pay as you go” business, where even the most powerful brands can test a new market without long-term commitment.

 

如果品牌与房东的要求匹配，就达成交易。一些商铺仅摆设一周时间，有些则会租上数年——无论哪种，都采取“现收现付”模式。就连那些最有影响力的品牌都可以通过这种模式来试水新市场，而不必签下长期合约。

 

Today, Bailey oversees a network that includes 160,000 brands and 6,000 retail spaces, throughout London, Paris and New York, and represents every kind of business, from the tiniest market-stall artisans to the most powerful brands in the world, such as Apple, Nike and Louis Vuitton. And the shops just keep popping.

 

如今，贝利的服务范围包括16万个品牌和6000个零售场地，覆盖了伦敦、巴黎和纽约全城，遍布每一个行业——从最微小的市场摆摊手艺人，到苹果、耐克和路易威登等全球最有影响力的品牌。且快闪商店还在持续增多。

 

This week, Appear Here launches its next innovation, a six-part collection of modular furniture designed for short-term retail. The pieces can be rented by the week, come in three different finishes, and include everything the modern shopkeeper might need, from a hanging rail to a fitting room to a shelving unit and a cash desk.

 

日前，Appear Here推出了又一项创新：由6部分组成的模块家具。这套家具专门为短租零售而设计。家具可以按周租赁，有三种不同漆面，包括了现代商店可能用到的一切：从衣架、试衣间，到货架和收银台。

 

The collection was designed by Richard Found, whose day job is tending to the look of luxury commercial spaces. He describes the fixtures as “ego-less”, with a focus on “pure design”. All can be adapted to any environment and it’s sleek, simple – and idiot-proof.

 

这套家具由理查德·方德（Richard Found）设计，他的正业是为奢侈品牌设计门店。在他眼中，这些固定装置做到了“无我”，专注于“纯设计”。所有装置都能适应各种环境，造型流线，简洁，且易于安装。

 

The incentives for such a collaboration are many. First, it will scale the business, increasing Appear Here’s profile as a one-stop pop-up platform through which you can also staff and service your store. Second, it will offer even the humblest of retailers a little more luxury gloss.

 

合作设计这样一套家具是出于多项考虑。首先，这样能促进规模化运营，提升Appear Here作为一站式快闪平台的形象——人们可以通过该平台为商店雇人和购买服务。其次，这能为哪怕是最不起眼的零售商增添一丝高级感。

 

Both are feeling bullish about the future of the high street. But they insist it must adapt. “Your store doesn’t need to be in one place anymore,” says Bailey. “Before, if you didn’t have your store, your business was over because where would the person find you? Now you’ve always got a presence that exists.”

 

对于高街零售业的未来，二人都持乐观态度。但他们坚称高街必须适应新形势。“你的商店没必要固守在一个地方。”贝利表示，“以前，倘若没有自己的店面，你的生意就完了，因为人们该去哪里找你？但现在你永远都有实体窗口。”

 

And he’s persuasive on the power of the pop-up as a marketing tool. “Digital direct-to-consumer brands are now paying so much for digital advertising.” With social-media reach and the right user-friendly experience, “one little shop can create something that builds a connection with millions of people that don’t even happen to walk past it. Experience is a currency that spreads.”

 

此外，他关于快闪店营销功能的看法也非常有说服力。“目前，直接面向消费者（DTC）的数字品牌在数字广告方面投入巨大。”有了社交媒体的宣传，再能提供友好的用户体验，“一家小店可以与数百万消费者建立联系，哪怕这些消费者并没有亲自路过。体验就是流通货币。”

 

Bailey’s hope is that the pop-up will help make the high street “a place of discovery” once more. “Anyone can have a shop,” he says.

 

贝利希望，快闪模式能帮助高街零售商店再一次成为“充满发现之地”。 “人人都能开店。”

 

Some of his favourite anecdotes concern the more unusual enterprises he’s helped bring to life – like the parents who, in lieu of an iPad, bought their son a £600 birthday pop-up from which to launch his T-shirt brand for two weeks.

 

他最喜欢讲的一些趣事，就是他帮助实现的那些不寻常的店铺——例如，一对父母花费600英镑，给他们的儿子买了一个为期两周的快闪店作为生日礼物，而不是iPad，用来发布他的T恤品牌。

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