California Apparel News

Melanie Michaud quit a safe, well-paying job at an established retailer to open a series of temporary pop-up shops recently. She believes the business of pop-up shops is solid and might be the best way for a new entrepreneur to serve the buying public’s rapidly changing tastes.

Michaud was the director of marketing for Torrance, Calif.–based specialty chain Diane’s Beachwear until recently. She introduced Graffiti Beach, the first pop-up shop in what she hopes to be a string of pop-up shops, on the weekend of Dec. 12 at an art gallery in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

The pop-up shop sold T-shirts from Orange County label Tavik Swimwear and photography from one-named designer Reiter at 50 percent to 70 percent off of retail prices for 48 hours. More than 500 people visited the first Graffiti Beach store, and they spent $7,500 at the temporary store. Michaud said the store’s sales and attendance would have doubled if a Dec. 12 rainstorm had not kept people indoors.

The next Graffiti Beach might sprout up in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood or in Orange County, Calif. Whatever happens, the pop-up shops will open in different locations in the future. Michaud decided to cast her fate with nomadic retail because she feels it’s where business trends are going.

Michaud said she felt consumers at Diane’s showed an increasing interest in warehouse sales or any place where they can get a big deal. Michaud said the public wants unique product. She said she can provide unique merchandise at a discount if she sells them at places where rent is nil. Hence, she opted to produce pop-up shops at galleries and spaces where not much rent was demanded. In return, the 48-hour stores draw crowds.

Eventually, she plans to open a permanent shop for Graffiti Beach and an e-commerce shop for the store. The pop-up shops will serve to build excitement for them. “My guess is that the marketplace will change and will become more stable. By that time, we will have developed a customer base,” she said.—Andrew Asch