It is Pop-Up Time & You Can’t Miss It: By DPHA Fellow Jeffrey Valles, Colonial Bronze.

A few weeks back, I wrote about the opportunity of looking to move or open a new store in this pandemic time. That remains a shining opportunity as rents are not being paid and people are closing their business. There are open retail locations all over; some are situated in luxury retail areas and some might be very close to competitors.

My guess is that your showroom customer flow is down, and you are contemplating what to do with your second-tier showroom salespeople. So, open a pop-up! You have good people twiddling their thumbs. They are bored and you are frustrated, so put them in a temporary showroom to show off your brand, reach out to fresh eyes and, maybe, capture a few new accounts.

A few months back you would not be able to afford to place a showroom next to a fashionable upscale grocery store or your local Coach store. Now you might be able to set up a six-month lease at a very low rate right next door.

Growing businesses are always looking for cost effective ways to extend the reach of their brand. Now you just might be able to set up a 500 square foot showroom in an untouched, viable market with knowledgeable salespeople. Why Not?

Vendors, you should not sit idly by. This will also help improve your brand’s reach and leverage your training of DPH salespeople. And sales representatives, you know the marketable areas that are now underserved. A pop-up is a team effort and all segments of the DPH world should be aggressively chasing this opportunity.

Let’s not overthink this. The store should be simple. It can and should look temporary. Afterall, it is. You are selling and promoting your store brand and the product lines that are being presented. This is a short-term play. You are looking for quick sales, market education and existing customers to visit your elegant, main showroom to work on major projects.

People have been homebound, and will likely remain so for a while longer. They are growing tired of their home’s clumsy spaces and dated appointments. Also working in your favor is that it looks like friends and family will be able to gather together for the holidays, and the holidays always motivate people to make their homes look better. Recent research from Pinterest Analytics shows that consumers are (already) ready for the holidays. While Pinterest is used to seeing a head start, spikes in holiday pinning typically come in September—and this year, holiday searches and saves were up 77 percent in April compared with the same period in 2019, including a threefold increase in searches for “Christmas gift ideas,” writes Pinterest CMO Andréa Mallard for Adweek.

So, let’s open our pop-up and focus our displays on simple style updates all the while listening to the visitors to learn if they really want to rip out a few walls. I suggest displaying kitchen and bath faucets, bath accessories, cabinet hardware and a few entryway sets. These take little to zero professional labor and will improve the look and functionality of the room.

Do not stuff the space; you do not need a lot of product. Present brands that work with you and are delivering on a timely basis. Again, do not overthink this.

I believe this is a beneficial step to better apply your salespeople’s selling talents and talk to new people. How much would that cost you to do in time and money on Facebook, Instagram and other social media to reach into a new market? This pop-up model is not expensive.

We are in the midst of a very unique time and these moments in history produce fear, change and opportunities. When this all settles, things will not look, nor work, the same as before and there will be winners and losers. Those who stand pat with their hand as it is might survive and thrive. Those that evaluate their team’s talent and vendor’s capabilities and decide to take a small step to test a new market might emerge with more business, new customers and a stronger brand.