Appear Here: A One-Stop Shop For Top Pop-Ups
“The high street is like a TV network”, says Ross Bailey, 25, the CEO aspiring to reinvigorate the former at the helm of Appear Here, “the Airbnb of retail space”. He adds: “When you turn on the TV, you want the channel you’re watching to stay relevant, to have new, different things. You don’t want to sit there and stare at a blank screen. A lot of high streets are just row upon row of blank screens”. Appear Here wants to bring the high street back to life. The Clerkenwell-based start-up, founded in 2014, provides a marketplace for empty retail spaces, which can be rented on short-term leases by small businesses to host pop-up shops. It’s worked with Google, Net-A-Porter, Marc Jacobs and Moleskine, as well as emerging businesses, helping them find their first space. Imad Alarnab, the Syrian chef featured in the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 list last year, launched a Columbia Road pop-up with Appear Here. Three-month short stays are popular, Bailey explains. Read more at Evening Standard.
