How PopUp Republic Worked with Town Officials to Launch Brookline (MA) Pop-up Marketplace

BOSTON - Sept. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- As is the case in most cities and towns in the United States, the Brookline (Masshachusetts) Economic Development Department is always in search of progressive, yet inexpensive solutions to local commercial challenges.  One such challenge has long been the artery along its southern border, a key and very prominent  gateway to the town that has been consistently plagued by rundown and often vacant storefronts.

PopUp Republic, an online pop-up marketing company that has become one of the movers and shakers in the nascent American pop-up scene, felt it had an idea that might help solve the problem and approached the town.  “We felt that if the town allowed us to curate a pop-up marketplace, populating it with rotating artisanal pop-up shops, it might create a buzz and have a beneficial spillover effect on the nearby permanent merchants’ business,” said Jeremy Baras, PopUp Republic’s founder and CEO.

The town gave the initiative a green light and put PopUp Republic in touch with some of the commercial property owners in the targeted area.  One such landlord, figuring he now had someone who would stage his property as one that could support local commerce, at virtually no cost, volunteered to be the guinea pig.  PopUp Republic worked with the landlord and town officials to be sure all appropriate permits and insurances were in place, and then went to work recruiting merchants (some of whom were referred by the Brookline Economic Development Department).

The PopUp Republic Pop-up Marketplace opened last month and the result has been a quick revitalization of what had been essentially a ghost town.  The pop-up shops have attracted several thousand visitors, talented merchants have had an opportunity to sell their goods without having to bear significant upfront costs and long-term commitments, and Brookline now has a new commercial sector of which it can take pride.  The pop-up marketplace has also attracted considerable positive media coverage, which has added a new spotlight on a section of town that had been neglected for too long.

“We have found many towns, neighborhoods and property owners that would like to host pop-up stores, but they haven’t had that key party in the middle to coordinate the events, recruit the merchants, make arrangements with the landlords, and make sure all is in compliance with local ordinances.  That’s where we come in,” Mr. Baras said.

PopUp Republic, which provides an online directory for merchants and chefs to post their upcoming pop-ups (www.popuprepublic.com), is now talking with property owners and economic development officials in other cities about replicating the “brick and mortar” pop-up marketplace it set up in Brookline.  For further information, one can contact jbaras@popuprepublic.com.