UK's We Are Pop Up debuts in Russia in deal with JLL

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 16, 2018

We Are Pop Up, the UK company that links brands and businesses seeking space for short-term rentals, is debuting in Russia in partnership with commercial property and investment management services specialist JLL.

JLL said that brands looking to enter the market but not ready to commit to a lengthy store lease should be able to find plenty of spaces through the new service.

The venture will initially focus on properties operated by JLL, including the Mosaic and Fili Grad shopping centres in Moscow, and Yuzhny in Kazan. The rental period could be a few days up to several months and future plans include ‘micro-renting’ where the label could take an even smaller space within a store.

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Pop-up tenants are seen as providing a solid revenue stream for shopping centres and they can also add buzz to a location.

We Are Pop Up CEO Leon Goldwater said that over 40,000 brands currently use its services, mainly in the fashion and electricals area. But demand is also growing from e-tailers looking to establish some kind of physical presence.

The company said that pop-up tenants in Russia will pay around 20% of their turnover for the space they occupy.

While pop-ups as a concept have been around for several decades, they’re still not that well established in Russia with the first-ever one there only opening in 2012 (it was a Uniqlo temporary store).
 
Although the new development could be seen as a sign that vacancy rates are growing in Russian malls, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Colliers International said the vacancy rate is around 6.9%, which isn’t a problem level.