As places for shopping and socializing, malls are the ideal setting for brands looking to open a pop-up store. Mobile, temporary and highly versatile, pop-up stores offer significant leeway for customization and meet a wide variety of objectives, from communicating with the public and generating revenue to developing brand values, testing out brick-and-mortar retailing and holding events. Located directly in the line of customer traffic, they create a novel opportunity for curious visitors to discover the featured brands and events.

Pop-up stores are popular with all types of organizations, from non-profits and multinationals to start-ups and digitally native vertical brands (DNVBs), owing their appeal to their agility and all-in-one versatility. They provide an ideal way to bridge the gap with customers – especially after the lockdown – and a unique, differentiating communications solution for brands and the values they embody, as Honda, Play-doh and Le Petit Marseillais have all found out. Pop-up stores have become a central plank in omnichannel strategies for retailers such as Emma Matelas, Emma & Chloé, Thermomix and Shein. For brands looking to test a new format before leasing long term, including Waterdrop, Havaïanas and Cabaïa, they also provide a way to “try before you buy” – an obvious business advantage. And they offer unparalleled flexibility: some retailers lacking space in-store due to sanitary measures are extending their surface area into the mall to meet demand during the holiday season, a strategy favored by Rituals, Fnac Kids, Pandora and Jeff de Bruges.

Here are the latest pop-up stores to open in Klépierre malls in France:

Not-to-be-missed innovations:

• WATERDROP is based on the idea of encouraging people to stay hydrated by giving water a little something extra. The start-up’s small flavor cubes are packed with fruit and plant extracts, rich in vitamins and sugar-free! Visit the stand during its one-year stay at Val d’Europe.
• EMMA MATELAS has designed Europe’s most award-winning memory foam mattress. The digitally native vertical brand (DNVB) is now entering the world of brick-and-mortar retail, with its very first pop-up store at Belle-Epine. Come and try the mattress for yourself. As the company says: “Don’t worry. Sleep happy.”

Seasonal collections:

• LES GEORGETTES BY ALTESSE is the fusion of two types of expertise: jewelry making by Maison Altesse and leather goods manufacture by Texier. The result is a bold, colorful collection of jewelry, designed and made in France, and endlessly customizable. Two pop-up stores will be open for one year in our malls: one at Val d’Europe and the other at Passages.
• CABAIA offers accessories for every season! From travel bags and beach towels in the summer to customizable socks and beanies in the winter, Cabaïa wows with its colorful and ethical ranges. This season, find the brand’s pop-up stores in five malls: Val d’Europe, Passages, Annecy Courier, Rives d’Arcins and Blagnac.

Products to try:

• Le GROUPE VOLKSWAGEN is setting up its “La Maison Chardon” pop-up store at Val d’Europe. The stylish and cozy space will showcase the group’s new electric models: the Volkswagen ID.3 and the Skoda Octavia hybrid! Check it out until January 2021.