A pop-up store is a short-term retail outlet that just 'pops up' out of nowhere. It is active for a few weeks or months, then it's gone. Pop-up shops are a pretty good way to sell men's, women's, and children's sunglasses in markets where sales are seasonal.
If you are interested, opening a pop-up store is a 4-step process:
1. Determine Your Overall Strategy
The first step is to determine your overall strategy. Are you looking to move as many pairs of sunglasses as possible, preferring to make your money on volume rather than unit price? Do you want to target a particular type of sunglasses – like wayfarers or aviators? Do you want to position yourself as a discount sunglasses retailer?
Determining an overall strategy before you get started goes a long way toward helping you make plans. You need to know what kind of inventory to purchase. You need to know how to market that inventory. So much of what you do seasonally is influenced by your overall strategy.
2. Look for Locations
Your next step is to look for decent locations. For the record, you should start the process well in advance of opening up. You need time to make plans, secure a temporary lease, get your insurance in order, and so forth. If you delay looking for space until May, for example, it might be too late by the time you are actually up and running.
While you are looking around for retail space, check on permit and license requirements. Contact your insurance carrier to make sure your policy covers a pop-up shop. Ensure that all administrative and legal requirements are taken care of before opening day.
3. Order Your Wholesale Sunglasses Inventory
With your strategy laid out and several good options for locations, it is time to order your inventory. Order enough to fully stock your shop for as long as it's going to be open. The thing to remember about pop-up stores is that everything moves quickly. This is by design. So you don't want to find yourself struggling with inventory a few weeks in. You want to make sure you are fully stocked and ready to go on day one.
4. Prepare for Your Grand Opening
Finally, do not make the mistake of believing that pop-up stores don't need marketing. They do. And one of the best ways you can market a pop-up store for sunglasses is to schedule a big grand opening. Let the local community know that you will be offering designer sunglasses for men, women, and children beginning on such-and-such a date. You might even consider running a special promotion on opening day.
Ideally, the right location will limit your need to market beyond the first week or two. By their nature, pop-up shops are in highly visible locations frequented by the type of customers a retailer wants. So your initial marketing is really just to let people know that you'll be opening your store for the summer season.
You can make pop-up stores work extremely well when you do them properly. If you sell designer sunglasses seasonally, a pop-up store could actually be your best bet for maximizing spring and summer sales. With the right strategy in place and a suitable location secured, the sky is really the limit. You can also rely on Olympic Eyewear as your source for cheap wholesale sunglasses.
