Pioneer Interview with Marianella Watman of Popup Brands

Popup Brands is a marketplace for short-term rentals for commercial spaces ranging from retail spaces to building foyers to event stalls. In this interview, founder Marianella Watman explains how the platform allows small business owners to open shop.

1. What made you interested in starting Popup Brands?

Prior to forming Popup Brands I was working in Australia’s largest diversified property group.

Meshing my own observations locally with global trends (such as collaborative consumption), I realised that technology could facilitate relationships more efficiently and effectively.

There was no doubt that many established and up and coming brands out there that could not easily find the spaces they require, for a multitude of reasons.

I was seeing more and more empty spaces growing in my local community, the centre of Sydney and the localities between. Every second commercial space was empty. The size of the opportunity became more apparent! We were getting more and more excited and continued to develop our business strategy.

2. How does Popup Brands work?

Popup Brands is a marketplace for short-term retail space. With over a thousand listings giving brands the option to search from entire stores, pop-in-store, event spaces, shopping centre spaces, outdoor spaces, festival and events and more.

When an appropriate space and area is found, the booking process is designed to be as simple as possible. Once the brand has chosen a space, a request is sent for approval to the Space Owner who can choose whether or not the company is appropriate for their property. Once the space seeker and space owner are in agreement, the space owner submits an invoice, agreement and rental details. The space seeker reviews, provides insurance policy and pays – all online.

Popup Brands is taking the hassle out of renting short-term retail space. Popup Brands is helping shape the future of retail and empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs, landlords and forward thinking brands.

3. What is the most impressive or unique space transformation that you’ve seen with Popup Brands?

Etsy turned an ordinary empty store on Castlereagh Street into a popup handicraft bazaar in the Christmas of 2013 and since then, they been exploring all sorts of venues. That space was a bit of an ugly duckling until they took it over. After their pop-up, the space became a prime retail space.

We are seeing collaborations between brands and restaurants and bars for pop-up events. Office lobbies and corporate buildings transforming into vibrant destinations surprising and delighting office workers.

Image from TimeOut Sydney

4. Have there been some pop-ups that have converted into permanent businesses?

Yes. Quite a few of the pop-ups that have gone into retail space on King Street Newton gained the traction to commit to long-term leases.

When we played matchmaker to Daniel and Ivan for a pop-up Mexican bar in Manly, it started as 3 months pop-up and it ended up being more than a year event. It helped Ivan gained a new level of income while Daniel tested and refined his new product without the extensive start-up cost. We are currently working with a couple of brands who are looking to start in a new state and test the area before signing up for a long-term lease.

5. What are some of your ‘dream spaces’ that you want to partner with?

We would love to work with David Jones space on Level 7, it is a magical space plus we’ve heard many landlords are maximizing the value of their space and thinking in opening up rooftops for different popup projects.

6.What’s next for Popup Brands in the next 5 years?

So much! With new brands and space owners joining every day our offering is constantly growing. We’ll keep growing in Australia and begin to trial pop-ups with international and online brands testing new markets in Asia. Having proved the business model here, we plan to grow strategically by working with the right brands in the right markets.

Rapid-fire questions:

How many spaces are listed on the platform? 1000+ and growing

Where are your busiest spaces located? Sydney and Melbourne CBD are super busy plus the retail store downstairs from the Verona Cinema in Paddington is constantly filled with up and coming local and international brands. This space is just beautiful. Also, pop-in-store spaces are always on high demand.

What are your busy spaces used for? Many online fashion brands are popping but we are seeing FMCG, telco, technology and banking brands creating interesting retail events.

What’s the average rental duration of a lease? 2-6 weeks