Apparel brand Jockey today opened its first pop-up store, a temporary retail location, at the Roosevelt Field mall – slated for a brief retail run that will end soon after the close of the holiday shopping season.
Indianapolis-based Simon Properties, which owns and operates Roosevelt Field, earlier said Jockey International, a 143-year-old brand known for underwear and apparel, was slated to open “its first-ever pop-up retail store” today at the edit @ Roosevelt Field, a section of the mall.
The mall confirmed that the 1,700-square-foot store opened today, and plans to remain open for only four months through January 2020. It’s a brief appearance, but part of a retail strategy that lets brands take prime space – without a permanent presence.
The idea is to burn bright, if briefly, and add immediacy to a store which, unlike most, has a short lease one life that can give it added appeal a little bit like the opening of a movie or other entertainment with a limited run.
Simon said Jockey is the fifth retailer to occupy this section of the mall that “allows brands the unique opportunity to have a highly visible space in one of the nation’s premier centers to test products and interact with consumers in a new format.”
Jockey follows Egg Baby, Clientele, Revtown USA and Hope & Henry, who recently announced they were opening stores with Simon nationwide.
Pop-up stores are temporary locations that can build buzz due to their brevity, test product and debut new store design.
Many Halloween pop-up stores open around now, filling empty storefronts briefly until that holiday’s over and occupying otherwise empty storefronts.
They provide rent for the landlord – and opportunity for the retailer, essentially filling empty space between traditional tenants.
But Roosevelt Field opened up prime real estate for temporary stores in a somewhat revolutionary retail area called the edit @ Roosevelt Field, providing a kind of revolving door for big brands.
Jockey’s store opens just as the holiday season starts to ramp up – and close as the season ends, giving it both prime time and prime real estate.
“We have been eager to launch our first pop-up store,” Melissa Latham, Jockey’s vice president of North American retail division, said. “And the edit @ Roosevelt Field provides us the flexibility to showcase Jockey products in an exciting and engaging way.”
Simon said the store will showcase an assortment “of men’s and women’s undergarments, activewear, sleepwear and loungewear” and include what Jockey calls an “underwear bar.”
“The underwear bar will feature mix-and-match styles for both men and women,” Simon said. “Customers can expect exclusive in-store promotions with the underwear bar including flash happy hour sales.”
Zachary Beloff, Simon’s national director of business development, said her company is dedicated to “bringing new brands and experiences to our customers” and that the edit @ Roosevelt Field “enables us to engage with iconic brands such as Jockey.”
The store, located on the main level of the mall near Dick’s Sporting Goods, can be reached using the mall entrance for the sporting goods store.
Jockey International, founded in 1876, is a private company based in Kenosha, Wis., with products sold in department and specialty stores in more than 145 nations around the world.
