PopUp Britain - The rise of the independant retailer?

It's been hard to ignore the amount of shop closures over the last few years, particularly in the peak of the recession when we were shocked to see the likes of Woolworths, MFI and Faith Shoes go into administration.

Since then, it's been common to see City and Town Centres scattered with vacant stores as retailers continue with their struggle to survive.  And despite a surge in volume of online retailers, they have been restricted to selling online and through events, due to the costs of setting up a 'bricks and mortar' shop.

That is, until now.

Monday saw the launch of 'PopUp Britain', a scheme run by StartUp Britain, set up to support and promote entrepreneurs and accelerate enterprise in Britain.  A PopUp shop in Richmond, Surrey, was opened on Monday for 3 months and will house 6 businesses at a time, for 2 weeks at a time.  The next two weeks will see a second set of 6 businesses selling their products.  Rental fees are then split between all of the businesses. 

What a brilliant idea.  Not only does it help retailers, but it also helps the landlords by filling the space, it helps the high street and it helps to educate the public that we need to support, not restrict, small business - as they are fundamental in the future development of our economy.

I hope all the businesses do well out of the experience and campaign - and would love to see more PopUp shops filling the gaps on the Highstreet!

Have a look at the websites for the first 6 retailers in the PopUp shop: Bertie and Jack  |  Tier One Clothing  | Elephant Branded | Maria Allen Jewellery | Morrow Outfitters | Vulpine

Read full article from Enterprise Nation |  Read more on Start Up Britain

What do you think?  Whether you are a customer or retailer, we'd love to know your thoughts!