​Pop-up culture

A new 2,152 sq ft space, framed in dark metal and featuring industrial elements such as wood floors and brick walls, sprang up on Level 1 of Ion Orchard mall overnight.

Glass showcases within the space display 10 iconic and historical timepieces brought in from the International Watch Company's (IWC) museum in Schaffhausen, Germany.

Legendary watchmaker and inventor Kurt Klaus, 85, was also flown in and met clients and guests at the pop-up during intimate sessions, where he shared his experiences over his 61-year history with the brand.

The two-week pop-up store, designed to have the same dark and industrial feel as the company's first factories in Switzerland, opened on the first of the month to celebrate the luxury Swiss watch manufacturer's 150th anniversary.

Ending its run on Sunday, it is the brand's first large-scale pop-up event and took six months of planning to set up.

Putting in so much effort for a temporary space may seem over-the-top, but in today's competitive retail environment, a growing number of brands are launching creative pop-ups to excite their consumers.

In their earliest iteration, pop-up stores - which took flight in Singapore around 2014 - were largely set up by online retailers and smaller local brands, such as women's clothing label Love, Bonito, which used these to test the market before setting up a full-fledged brick-and-mortar store.

But in recent years, high-end global brands, including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Chanel, have jumped on the pop-up bandwagon, despite already having numerous physical stores here.

These new generation of pop-ups are different.

They are concept driven and centred around experiential retail - offering an environment that is completely distinct from the brand's boutique stores.

Most run for two weeks or less and are used as a platform to launch products in an exciting way.

Another lure, say experts, is that they give brands a way to interact with customers in a different setting.

Just last month, French fashion house Chanel launched its third pop-up concept here, inspired by Japanese gaming arcades, complete with uniquely designed games that could be played to win beauty and skincare samples.

Held at the Luxe Art Museum in Handy Road, it followe​d the success of last year's cafe-themed beauty concept, where shoppers received free makeovers, manicures and hand massages.

In February, Italian luxury brand Miu Miu set up a 1970s-style, disco-themed pop-up store in Paragon shopping centre. Italian luxury brand Fendi also created a Roman newsstand-style pop-up kiosk to celebrate the launch of its new store at Ion Orchard in the same month.

And in August, Italian luxury fashion label Marni will launch Marni Market in Ion Orchard, a pop-up that sells pocket-friendly pieces from the brand that are not sold in stores.

The marketplace-themed pop-up, which is inspired by city markets around the world, is known to be colourful and whimsical in design, which is in line with the unique and bespoke products it sells.

Adjunct associate professor Lynda Wee from Nanyang Business School says the new trend lends itself well to the changing face of retail - one in which consumers want to be excited by experiential retail environments.

"Shoppers these days tend to buy products when they are engaged emotionally and pop-ups are a good way for brands to create this emotional brand engagement," she says, adding that the costs of these pop-ups can often be very high.

"Gone are the days where pop-ups were quick fixes which were built cheaply and then tossed away.

"Today, these pop-ups are built for customers to discover more about the brand, which means they are more creative and lifestyle based, instead of being solely about transactions."

Brands seem to agree.

IWC South-east Asia's managing director, Mr Stanislas Rambaud, says: "Holding a pop-up like this gives us a chance to not only showcase the heritage of the brand, but also educate customers and give them a chance to discover the world of IWC.

"It is not only about sales, we also want to engage with our consumers in a different way."

The temporal nature of pop-ups also drums up excitement and creates buzz, which can lead to awareness and increased sales down the line, they say.

Online retail platform Lazada, which held its first offline pop-up at Plaza Singapura last month to celebrate its sixth birthday, saw snaking queues of people wanting to get their hands on flash deals and giveaways during the three-day event.

The 2,000 surprise boxes it sold daily - a concept it offers online where boxes of surprise items are sold for half or a third of their total retail price - were sold out within two hours each day.

Given the buzz these pop-ups can create, it is no surprise that malls are getting more requests from brands to hold such concept pop-ups, even though they might already be tenants within the mall.

Ms Yeo Mui Hong, chief executive of Orchard Turn Developments, which manages Ion Orchard, says she has "definitely seen an uptrend in brands wanting to hold unique, interesting and Instagram-worthy pop-up concepts" in the mall.

In recent months, the mall has seen pop-ups from Burberry, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, H&M x Kenzo, Van Cleef & Arpels, Dior and Moncler, just to name a few, with concepts from Graff, Chloe, Marni and L'Occitane coming up in the months ahead.

"These pop-up events complement our retail and lifestyle offerings, so they are a good way for us to engage our shoppers and keep them coming back to the mall," says Ms Yeo.

The trend is not confined to just malls either.

The Orchard Road Business Association has also seen an increase in outdoor pop-up requests from retailers, which has led to tie-ups with the Singapore Tourism Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority to use public spaces for these new pop-up retail concepts.

Last year, five companies, which include brands such as SK-II and Tiffany & Co Fragrances, set up pop-up concepts along Orchard Road during the year-end festive season.

This was the first time that commercial activities, such as the sales of products, were allowed for such stores along Orchard Road.

Given the successful run, there are already plans to have more such pop-ups during the year-end festive season this year.

Mr Steven Goh, executive director of Orchard Road Business Association, says: "Brands are increasingly exploring new avenues to create refreshing and interactive platforms to interact with their consumers.

"Pop-ups are therefore a good opportunity for global brands to launch new products and new-to-market brands to pilot new concepts."

French retailer of beauty products and cosmetics L'Occitane will be using its upcoming cafe-concept pop-up in July to showcase a new concept for its stores, ahead of its first revamped store opening here in August.

Slated to take place at Ion Orchard, the L'Occitane café will take customers on a virtual-reality journey to the south of France, give them a chance to feel and smell the brand's products, and dine on a special menu of bon bons, macarons and desserts, designed exclusively for the pop-up by local pastry chef Janice Wong.

"As we wanted to bring a new dimension to our brand in Singapore, a pop-up gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase our new retail experience," says general manager of L'Occitane South-east Asia and India, Ms Irene Goh.

"Plus, we want customers to enjoy the journey of discovering our brand in a relaxed and unique environment that is separate from our retail space.

"This is a chance for them to experience all the goodness we have to offer, without the pressures of being in a store."

Source: The Straits Times, 11 May 2018