Macy’s is giving shoppers another reason to visit its stores.
Starting this month, Macy’s is launching a series of pop-up shops in 10 of its locations designed to provide up-and-coming brands with a turnkey solution for entering brick and mortar.
For the brands, The Market @ Macy’s is a temporary shop-in-shop concept that alleviates the overhead and the headache associated with going it alone. For Macy’s, the retailer is hoping it’ll help drive foot traffic and fulfill shoppers’ need for newness.
“Overwhelmingly, what we think makes this so attractive for Macy’s and our customers is it continues to drive customers to stores by giving a constant break of discovery,” Marc Mastronardi, EVP of new business development and innovation at Macy’s, told CNBC.
Last year, Simon Property Group partnered with Appear Here on the Edit, an incubator for online retailers wanting to set down roots. These digitally native companies are hot properties given that they open their doors with built-in followings.
In the case of The Market, not only is Macy’s offering space, it’s also providing these fledgling brands operational support in the form of a dedicated sales team. Also, tenants aren’t locked into a long-term contract; Macy’s only requires a one-month minimum. What’s more, there’s only a one-time fee with no royalties or commissions.
Macy’s, along with all of its department store peers, has been experimenting with new ways to capitalize on its retail fleet. Lord & Taylor’s New York flagship will be co-located with the WeWork temporary office space company, a move that it hopes will increase sales. Kohl’s has teamed up with Amazon, with space dedicated to the company’s gadgets as well as returns accepted in store.
The Market @ Macy’s follows the company’s five-point North Star strategy, which was unveiled over the summer. Among other things, the plan called for exclusive product, elevated experiences and a look to what’s next in retail.
“For really minimal company investment, we were able to take the capabilities that we already have and package them in a way that is creating a new revenue stream, product discovery and something that is good for the customer,” said Mastronardi.