Feeling the FOMO

And the importance of relationships

All businesses are relationship businesses

I’ve been waiting for this moment since the start of the pandemic and it’s finally arrived. The swell of energy around physical retail has manifested into several new store opening projects for me and my fledgling company—and I’m thrilled! This month I began working with some amazing brands on holiday pop-ups, permanent buildouts, and multi-store pop-to-perm rollouts across the country. 

Bringing a brand’s ethos from the digital world into the tangible realm of physical retail requires a diverse skill set, the most important of which is a bit unexpected—the ability to build and maintain relationships. This week alone, I’ve witnessed a brand owner secure funding because of a childhood connection, the resolution of a permitting dispute because someone was willing to listen, and a brand team come together to determine the value proposition of their first-ever retail store. 

So I’m reminded, yet again, that while hard skills and experience certainly matter, the ability to relate to others is a skill worthy of due credit in building anything—even stores.

ICYMI 

It’s no secret that I love coffee. I owe Starbucks a debt of gratitude for teaching me how to run a business and lead others. A few weeks ago, I sat down with my former colleague and current mentor, George Poulios, to help a budding entrepreneur get her coffee shop concept off the ground. 

You can listen to the Curiously George Podcast episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Back away from that lease 

FOMO is a powerful motivator. Over the last year, commercial real estate prices have dropped by 30% in some markets and there are still record vacancies in major cities. This created opportunity for brands that have the capital and the desire for physical stores to secure spaces at historically low rates. Over the past 4-6 weeks, however, as customer avoidance of indoor spaces has fallen, the CRE landlords are beginning to regain confidence and the deals have become slightly less favorable for brands.  

This phenomenon has put (artificial imo) pressure on brands to secure space before prices return to pre-pandemic levels. I’m not here to debate if and when that will actually happen—we’ll leave that for another writing. I’m here to say to brands: Stop. Don’t sign that lease (at least not yet).

I’m the Retail is Alive™ girl! Why would I say such a thing? Have I changed my position on the future of physical? Have the naysayers gotten to me? Not at all. Of course brands should sign leases and open stores (and I’m here to help with that). But signing a lease is not the first step to opening a store. Securing a space based on FOMO and a “good” price without first understanding with stark clarity the critical components is like renting a car for a long trip without considering the distance, terrain, number and type of passengers, and amount of gear it will need to handle.  

A little bit of time and thought spent on the front end will pay dividends on the backend. Hang on to that LOI for just a few moments and consider the job of the store, the customers it’s meant to serve, and what logistically is needed to ensure success.

Each store has a job. Typically it has something to do with encouraging a specific feeling or behavior (or both) from its customer. The obvious example here is try-on for apparel. All elements of the store—size, layout, design, assortment, service, and selling ceremony—should lead the customer to the imperative experience. The store’s job dictates which lease to sign, not the other way around.

A store for everyone is a store for no one. This, among other reasons, is why department stores are failing. Stores should be selected and designed with a specific customer in mind. This does not mean customers that fall outside of the ideal persona will not enjoy the store experience. Brands may even discover new demographics that were previously unknown are drawn to it, opening up new opportunities. But, the ideal customer must be well defined and considered when searching for a store location.

Operations and logistics FTW. Even if a brand chooses the ideal location, has an incredible design, and the perfect front-of-house experience, what happens behind the scenes will ultimately determine long-term success. With new customer expectations, brands need to consider stockroom size, inventory flow, and tech stack—among other things—before signing that lease. The last thing you want is a parade of hand tucks interrupting that carefully crafted customer journey.

Putting down that pen—temporarily—and taking the time to do the pre-work, will result in less gambling and more certainty when it comes time to sign that lease.

I work with brands to build, expand and run omnichannel stores that drive revenue and customer acquisition. Want to explore how we can work together? Schedule a needs assessment.