Storefront (company)

Storefront
Private
Industry Pop-up retail
Founded San Francisco (2012)
Founders Erik Eliason and Tristan Pollock
Headquarters San Francisco, United States
Area served
 San Francisco and New York City
Services Short-term and pop-up retail rentals
Website Official website

Storefront is a sharing-economy company that provides short-term retail spaces for rent to companies through an online platform, used specifically as pop-up retail locations.[1]

History

Storefront is an online marketplace for pop-up retail space, based out of San Francisco. The company was founded in the fall of 2012 by CEO Erik Eliason and COO Tristan Pollock, through the AngelPad start-up accelerator. The two founders had previously opened other companies, including the social media site SocialEarth, founded in 2009. Storefront opened its first pop-up retail space in December 2012. Over its first six months Storefront helped to open one hundred pop-ups, and included around three million square feet of retail space by June 2013. Storefront received $1.6 million in funding in 2013 and included spaces in both San Francisco and New York City, with initial New York listings in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.[2][3][4][5] These listings included spaces in Grand Central Station and the Soho neighborhood.[6]

Business overview

Storefront's listings largely represent short-term rentals in temporary vacancies within shopping complexes and other commercial establishments.[7] Rentals often average from three to four weeks, providing a temporary brick and mortar space to companies.[2] The site allows anybody to sign-up and purchase a short-term rentals, in the San Francisco/Oakland, or New York City area.[8] Rentals can also be shorter than a week: in December 2013 Kanye West opened a tour merchandise pop-up for only four days over his tour dates in New York City.[9]

Professor David Bell of the Wharton School of Business stated of Storefront that, "It’s like Airbnb, eBay and Uber rolled into one ... Storefront matches excess capacity with the demand for capacity in an efficient and scalable way."[9] The locations also include spaces in the New York City subway system.[10] These spaces are offered through a partnership between the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Storefront. The director of leasing and operations for the authority stated that, "Our partnership with Storefront reflects the MTA's commitment to pushing the bounds of vibrancy in the subway."[11][12]

Storefront's client base includes both ecommerce companies looking for temporary physical sales locations as well as offline firms like National Geographic, restaurants, and companies test-releasing future products. In April 2014 Storefront exceeded the one thousand openings mark, facilitating $30 million in sales.[1][13][14]

Storefront platform

Storefront is an online marketplace that helps brands, designers and artists find and rent temporary retail spaces. Insurance, support and promotion is provided for both parties. The spaces are listed with additional information, including photographs of the space, the demographics of those who frequent or live in the area, space design specifications, a list of nearby retailers, and foot traffic statistics determined by a proprietary methodology. Once a user has decided on a specific property and the rental has been approved by the space owner, the user is able to book it directly through Storefront without dealing with the real estate broker or landlord, by signing the site's standard contract and liability insurance policy. The database of properties comes from Storefront's network of commercial real estate brokers, and available spaces generally numbers in the thousands.[15][16] Storefront also provides options for signage, staffing, and fixtures for pop-up retail locations.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Joan Voight (June 26, 2013). "Storefront, a Pop-up Matchmaker, Expands to New York Helps retail brands find short-term space". Adweek. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Em Maier (July 2, 2013). "Storefront: The Airbnb of Retail". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ Melissa O'Young (July 8, 2013). "COLLABORATIVE PIONEER: INSIDE INTERVIEW WITH ERIK ELIASON AT STOREFRONT". Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ Adrianne Pasquarelli (June 26, 2013). "Real Estate". Crains New York. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ Colleen Taylor. "Storefront Gets $1.6M To Grow Its 'Pop-Up Shop' Marketplace For Short-Term Commercial Rentals". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ Michael Carney (June 26, 2013). "Storefront raises $1.6M to match vacant retail space with short-term tenants". Pando Daily. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  7. ↑ Sharon Edelson (June 25, 2013). "Storefront Secures $1.6M in Funding". WWD. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  8. ↑ Michael Coren (April 26, 2013). "Making Renting A Store As Easy As Booking A Hotel Room". Fast Company. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Joshua Stein (December 22, 2013). "No Space Too Small, No Lease Too Short". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ Chris Pomorski (December 10, 2013). "(More) Commuter Consumerism: MTA Partners with Storefront on Subway Pop-Up Shopping". New York Observer. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Brittany Dee (December 12, 2013). "Emerging Designers to Open Pop-Up Stores in New York City Subway Stations". Fashion Times. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Sharon Edelson (December 11, 2013). "Pop-Up Stores Coming to New York City Subways". WWD. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ Esther Hahn (April 7, 2014). "Storefront Makes the Pop Up Possible for Ecommerce Brands". Racked. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  14. ↑ Rebecca Grant (June 26, 2013). "Storefront closes $1.6M to fill unused retail space with pop-up shops". Venture Beat. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Zenefits, Storefront, FlightCar, Celly". Financial Post. February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  16. ↑ Renée Frojo (December 13, 2012). "San Francisco-based Storefront helps pop-ups find a home". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
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