Pop goes the sale

Creative spaces

Innovation has become the order of the day, more so when it comes to marketing. The concept of pop-up stores or flash retailing is one such entry that has found a breeding ground in Bengaluru.

In a nutshell, pop-up stores are those that come up for a few days (mostly over a weekend) and then disappear. These could be at unique locations or in malls, and sell just about anything from clothes to food and accessories. Sometimes, they are even a tie-up between two stores, wherein one sells while the other plays the host.  

House of Taamara, a popular ethnic fashion store, is one such place that organises many pop-up sales. “I was always aware of the concept as earlier, I used to run ‘The Yellow Button’,” says Madhavi Rongala, co-founder of House of Taamara.

  “We have pop-up sales for the designers or labels we work with. It makes sense for everyone involved as it’s a cross promotion of sorts, where we get to display new designs while budding designers get a platform to showcase their work. Sometimes, we have seasonal pop-up sales like the launch of a new collection,” she adds. Currently busy as part of a pop-up sale, that ends on October 17, she says, “We do it as often as two times a month and feel it’s a great way to promote new designs.”

Kusum Rohra, owner of Timri, a boutique in Indiranagar that sells clothing, jewellery and home decor among other things, feels pop-up stores are the best way to showcase new options to customers.

   “We invite smaller labels to come and since their products are not mass produced, the design value is high. It’s a win-win situation for both the teams involved,” she notes. Timri recently organised ‘Feel Good Fiesta’, a pop-up sale where people from Pondicherry, West Bengal and Delhi had come. “The three best things about pop-up sales are variety, quality and exclusivity,” she explains.

Bengaluru being a City of foodies, one even finds interesting food-based pop-ups. Kingsley Joseph, who runs ‘Bite Me Cupcakes’, with wife Divya Ramasami, informs that they took part in many such sales even before they started their store. “We would have them in apartment complexes and malls. Opening a pop-up store is not only enlightening but also a great opportunity to interact directly with customers. One of our favourite ones was one at Embassy Golf Links where we had Venus Williams visiting our shop,” he recalls.

For many store owners, a pop-up sale is a great way to gauge the market without spending much money. ‘Rustic Motifs’, a handicraft store in Jayanagar, started off as an e-commerce portal. “But even when we opened a store in Jayanagar, we realised that we needed to reach out to other areas of the City. For instance, an area like Indiranagar has completely different dynamics from Jayanagar. So we worked with ‘The Orange Bicycle’ in Indiranagar and had our pop-up sales there, which had a great response. Now, we are retailing from there so as a new brand, it’s advantageous for us as well as them as they have a variety to offer to their customers,” explains Avantika Heblikar from ‘Rustic Motifs’. Her business partner Merlin Francis adds, “Pop-up sales introduce us to a new area. They are an excellent way to explore a place without spending much and help us know where we stand.”

So the next time you want a ‘pop’ of creativity in your fashion, food or art as a customer or as an entrepreneur, you know where to head!