COPPELL, TX - Store fixture firm Walls+Forms is developing what may seem like unlikely sales: selling store fixtures to owners of vacant stores.
But the Coppell, Texas store fixture firm makes a good case: the generic storefront interiors dress up unsightly vacant storefronts in malls and shopping districts, making them more attractive to prospective renters, and reducing the blighted look for adjacent retailers.
"At a time when retail landlords are struggling with high vacancy rates, an innovative sales strategy utilized by some tenants is helping them fill the gaps and earn some additional rental income," says Walls + Forms.
It suggests leasing agents use the generic interior designs for pop-up stores and to subdivide larger storefronts - allowing them to lease a smaller space at a lower cost. Walls + Forms, which also produces modular meeting rooms and pre-branded store departments for national retail chains, manufactures and ships from its 180,000 square foot facility.
The reusable, temporary, modular stores fronts can be adapted to any retail space, says Walls+Forms. Versions of a 25-foot-wide store are offered in 10, 20 and 40-foot depths. "It is ideally suited for mall and leasing agents for leasing out a smaller portion of vacant area, reduces unsightly empty stores, and offers cost savings advantages such as monthly lease payment," says Walls+Forms. "It is also perfect for retailers that want to downsize and sublease part of their retail space."
Walls + Forms has a solution for vacancies and smaller stores which benefits small and leasing agents plus retailers. The solution is flex retail “pop up” stores that provide a win/win model in a challenging retail environment.
Walls+Forms, Inc., supplies a reusable, temporary, modular store that can easily be adapted to any retail space. It is ideally suited for mall and leasing agents for leasing out a smaller portion of vacant area, reduces unsightly empty stores, and offers cost savings advantages such as monthly lease payment. It is also perfect for retailers that want to downsize and sublease part of their retail space.
At a time when retail landlords are struggling with high vacancy rates, an innovative sales strategy utilized by some tenants is helping them fill the gaps and earn some additional rental income. Pop-up stores, which allow a retailer to sign a temporary lease lasting anywhere from two months to six months, have traditionally been looked down upon at by mall and shopping center owners who could take their pick of permanent tenants. However in today’s environment, with retailers wary of new store openings or downsizing, pop-ups are becoming a hot new trend and landlords are finding it suits them just fine.
More and more retailers are testing out temporary locations vs. the alternative of a long-term lease. It is a win/win because it enables landlords to get good tenants for their vacant space and get them out when they need them out, plus the icing on the cake is they get income as well. For example, large global clothing retailers have secured temporary locations in major markets to test or launch new product lines, media juggernauts have showcased movie related merchandise prior to a big movie premier, and leading chocolate retailers have done pop-up boutiques for Valentine’s Day.
During the holiday shopping season, a major toy retailer has been opening pop-up stores on a national basis. A large footwear chain has been doing pop-ups using the temporary locations to sell leftover merchandise while a large discount retail chain has opened up several temporary bodegas in a major market as a way of establishing a presence there.
Pop-up stores enable retailers to increase revenue during crucial sales periods, such as back-to-school, Halloween and holiday shopping seasons, without taking on the risk of a permanent location. If the temporary stores are successful, they might become permanent stores. Meanwhile, smaller, regional retailers might see temporary stores as a stepping stone to gain access to high-profile retail centers whose landlords would not otherwise view them as viable tenants.
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