I realize it's a business, not a popularity contest. Nevertheless, when I saw the last of k. hall designs' shop-props pulling away in the back of an open truck on Maryland Plaza last evening, reality struck. Pop-ups are temporary by design, but I had hoped k. hall's first retail shop, launched in the CWE, would become a permanent fixture. Perhaps it will, some day, but not for now.
In May 2012, Kelly Hall-Barr and John Barr opened their pop-up shop at 26 Maryland Plaza. The successful company, which has a retail outlet at its Brentwood facility for its line of aromatic bath, body and home care products, added clothing and gift items to the mix for its CWE experiment. Now, having tried the urban model on for size, they are opening in Plaza Frontenac to see how the upscale mall experience fits k.hall's business model.
An article in the April 10 Business section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hangs in the window of the now-vacant storefront. It explains the rationale behind k. hall's pop-up shop idea. An excerpt from the article by Kavita Kumar is copied below, and can be read in its entirety here.
…"The Central West End store has done well and stayed a lot longer
than we expected," said Scott Miller, the company's chief operating
officer. "Now that we've tried out a walking district, we want to try an
enclosed mall."
He added that the two different store experiences
will help the company figure out which kind of setting might be best
for it in the future.
The Plaza Frontenac store, which will have a soft opening on May 1, will stay open for at least three months — if not longer."
The sales clerks always told me that business was especially slow in the CWE store. That many people would stop in but were mostly in the area to enjoy dinner or drinks and rarely was a purchase made. Sad.