Despite retail’s uncertainty, Simon believes that the mall is a boon for new brands—and its latest pop-up concept could bring consumers back to brick-and-mortar.
On Friday, the mall tycoon unveiled The Edit@Roosevelt Field, an experiential retail space for digital and physical brands to pilot their new products, at Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, New York. The pop-up shop will enable some e-commerce brands to engage in a brick-and-mortar format for the first time and allow consumers to interact with exclusive goods.
Designed by O’Neil Langan Architects, The Edit@Roosevelt Field will feature a rotating assortment of diverse new brands, including athletic apparel favorite Rhone, Raden Smart Luggage, millennial-focused Skinnydip London and menswear brand Vitaly. Brands will be displayed in micro retail units that range from twenty to two hundred square feet. The Edit@Roosevelt Field platform provides brands with retailing essentials, including custom-designed modular fixturing systems, digital media walls and staffing solutions. Brand ambassadors will also be present at the space to provide consumers with product information and convert sales.
Simon also teamed up with two tech-forward companies to elevate the shop’s offerings. The mall company partnered with Apparel Here, a global marketplace for short-term retail space, to help with the brand onboarding process. Apparel Here connects brands with available retail space online to streamline the process for finding temporary pop-up spaces. AllWork, a technology and services platform, is also a crucial part of the new pop-up concept and will help brands manage their retail talent.
“We are thrilled to bring this revolutionary retail model that enables brands to come to market faster and more visibly than ever before beginning at one of our premier properties, Roosevelt Field. This concept is a design-centric, experience driven, and completely transitional place to discover new product and technology in a brick and mortar space,” said Zachary Beloff, National director of business development for Simon. “Our customers will be able to experience and interact with new brands like never before.”