Store trend getting a new spin in downtown Iowa City

A trio of downtown Iowa City businesses have added an interesting twist to the pop-up store trend that caught hold across America during the last recession.

As their name implies, the temporary shops pop up in vacant storefront or mall spaces without substantial renovations or redevelopment. They usually locate in urban areas with heavy foot traffic.

Luxury retailers, too, have developed more exotic pop-ups in unusual urban spaces in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and other major cities.

December was the pop-up brainchild of Catherine Champion, the owner of Catherine's Boutique. The store, at 30 S. Clinton St. in downtown Iowa City, took advantage of a vacancy in the venue that had long housed Gilda Imports, a gift store.

Champion contacted Bill Nusser and Jann Weissmiller, owners at two other landmark downtown retailers - Hands Jewelers and Prairie Lights Books, respectively. They agreed to help with lease and utility costs for the store, as well as inventory.

Champion also lined up local craft people and artists to contribute their merchandise, eventually bringing in dozens.

The result was a somewhat random mix of interesting and ever-changing inventory.

“I didn't make the assortment,” Champion said. “That's the best thing. The community did. I didn't turn anyone away.”

Weissmiller said Champion's own store, Catherine's, and Prairie Lights also received a benefit from capturing a different group of potential customers than the pedestrian traffic that usually passes by their stores on nearby Dubuque Street.

“Clinton Street has a totally different clientele,” she said.

After the holiday season, Champion decided to open a second pop-up store with a sort of perennial concept in a vacant storefront at 105 S. Dubuqe St.

Valentine opened Thursday, the first of a rotating assortment of seasonal pop-ups planned for that location.

Champion envisions a changing parade of seasonal concepts that could include Mother's Day and Halloween.

“I like the beginning and the end, and I don't like what happens in the middle,” Champion said. “That's why pop-up is perfect for me.”

Champion said she combs websites such as TrendHunter.com to search for interesting concepts to weave into retailing.

Champion eventually would like the Iowa City store to morph into a “community store,” that would offer only locally made merchandise. It's part of her personal answer to what can otherwise become the drudgery of a retail existence.

“Whatever, I'm still coming to work every day,” Champion said. “ Why not do these things differently? I choose to create my life.”

To Weissmiller, one of the pleasures of stocking the December store was finding great books that might otherwise be lost in the collection of new releases and blockbusters at Prairie Lights.

“Some of the books are just fun and eclectic,” she said shortly before the store wrapped up its season. “We get a listing every day of what sold over there, and I go over there and restock.”

Weissmiller said Hands Jewelers featured dishware and gift items that might ordinarily be overlooked on its upper retail level, or by customers who don't shop the jewelry-oriented store because they think it's outside their price range.

Lindale Mall Senior Marketing Manager Lisa Rowe said temporary stores are an important part of the mall's offerings every day of the year, although it tends to peak at Christmas.

Calendar Club, Go Games, Hickory Farms and Treasure Chest have been some of Lindale Mall's recent seasonal retailers, along with Kozy Blankets and Willustrations. A common theme among the seasonal kiosks has been the ability to personalize a wide merchandise assortment of colors and styles in a narrow category, Rowe said.

She added that a big benefit of leasing a kiosk or a temporary store space is that it can give the merchant a sort of test drive of the mall market with less risk than signing a long-term lease.

In most malls, Norins said, the temporary stores sign a license agreement rather than a lease. She said the agreements allow the merchant to operate in the space, but frequently can require that they move out on short notice if the mall needs the space for a long-term tenant.

Flexibility is key

Temporary stores had become an established element in retailing long before the term pop-up went mainstream a few years ago, according to Patricia Norins, publisher of Specialty Retail, a temporary store industry publication.

Temporary stores seem to boom during economic downturns, Norins said, and the surge in temporary stores of the past three years has echoed a similar recession-related temporary store boom in the 1980s.

Norins told Business380 that year-around stores that change names and themes with the season have become more common in the past couple years.

“A really key element of our industry is retailers have flexibility to change product lines from season to season,” she said.

Pop-up stores not only provide a new retail experience for shoppers seeking something fresh, but create a sense of urgency, Norins said. Customers know the store could be gone next month.

Top 5 categoires of pop-up stores:

1. Apparel: 14.5%
2. Cellular and accessories: 13.2%
3. Personal Care and Health: 7.8%
4. Food: 6.2%
5. Bath, Body and Fragrance: 6.1%

Source: Specialty Retail Pulse Quarterly Market Research Report for 2011