導讀:“快閃”模式像是Airbnb加上WeWork，品牌可以根據預算和時間段在該平臺尋找合適的房東，平臺還提供商鋪家具短租服務。
In the dirge of news about retail failure, where once impregnable institutions like House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer are now husks of their former selves, the high street would seem to be in mortal danger. Right? Wrong, says Ross Bailey, a 26-year-old retail entrepreneur: “The problem is that most high-street stores are crap.”
零售企業紛紛倒下。曾經堅不可摧的House of Fraser和馬莎百貨(Marks and Spencer)如今都只剩下一具軀殼。挽歌唱響，高街零售業似乎走到了生死關頭。難道不對嗎？當然不對！在26歲的零售企業家羅斯.貝利(Ross Bailey)看來，“問題出在大多數高街百貨商店。
Lest we forget, 90 per cent of sales are still made in bricks-and-mortar buildings. But shorter leases, changing consumer loyalties and online stores have changed the way we shop. And traditional stores are increasingly being replaced by more short-term “pop-up” solutions.
先提醒一句，目前社會消費品銷售總額的90%仍是在實體店完成的。但隨著商鋪租約的縮短，消費者忠誠度不斷變化，加上電商的發展，我們的購物方式也在改變。此外，傳統商店正逐步讓位于經營期限更短的“快閃”(Pop-up)模式。
“The death of the high street is grossly exaggerated,” Bailey continues. “It dies when it’s homogenous and uninteresting. When it’s done right, it’s a totally different story.”
“高街的衰亡被過分夸大了。”貝利接著說道，“如果高街零售商繼續同質化經營和無趣，消亡是不可避免的。但如果經營得當，情況會完全不同。”
In 2012, Bailey founded Appear Here, an online marketplace for short-term retail designed to disrupt the commercial space. Brands go to the website to search for a space, book a time slot and earmark a budget and then Appear Here connects them with a landlord.
2012年，貝利創建了零售商鋪短租平臺Appear Here，旨在顛覆商業地產市場。品牌可以通過該平臺搜索場地，列出時間段和預算，而Appear Here則會為他們介紹房東。
If the brand and the landlord are a match, the deal goes ahead. Some shops pop up for only a week, others rent for years — either way, it’s a “pay as you go” business, where even the most powerful brands can test a new market without long-term commitment.
如果品牌與房東的要求匹配，就達成交易。一些商鋪僅擺設一周時間，有些則會租上數年——無論哪種，都采取“現收現付”模式。就連那些最有影響力的品牌都可以通過這種模式來試水新市場，而不必簽下長期合約。
Today, Bailey oversees a network that includes 160,000 brands and 6,000 retail spaces, throughout London, Paris and New York, and represents every kind of business, from the tiniest market-stall artisans to the most powerful brands in the world, such as Apple, Nike and Louis Vuitton. And the shops just keep popping.
如今，貝利的服務范圍包括16萬個品牌和6000個零售場地，覆蓋了倫敦、巴黎和紐約全城，遍布每一個行業——從最微小的市場擺攤手藝人，到蘋果(Apple)、耐克(Nike)和路易威登(Louis Vuitton)等全球最有影響力的品牌。且快閃商店還在持續增多。
This week, Appear Here launches its next innovation, a six-part collection of modular furniture designed for short-term retail. The pieces can be rented by the week, come in three different finishes, and include everything the modern shopkeeper might need, from a hanging rail to a fitting room to a shelving unit and a cash desk.
日前，Appear Here推出了又一項創新：由6部分組成的模塊家具。這套家具專門為短租零售而設計。家具可以按周租賃，有三種不同漆面，包括了現代商店可能用到的一切：從衣架、試衣間，到貨架和收銀臺。
The collection was designed by Richard Found, whose day job is tending to the look of luxury commercial spaces. He describes the fixtures as “ego-less”, with a focus on “pure design”. All can be adapted to any environment and it’s sleek, simple — and idiot-proof.
這套家具由理查德.方德(Richard Found)設計，他的正業是為奢侈品牌設計門店。在他眼中，這些固定裝置做到了“無我”，專注于“純設計”。所有裝置都能適應各種環境，造型流線，簡潔，且易于安裝。
The incentives for such a collaboration are many. First, it will scale the business, increasing Appear Here’s profile as a one-stop pop-up platform through which you can also staff and service your store. Second, it will offer even the humblest of retailers a little more luxury gloss.
合作設計這樣一套家具是出于多項考慮。首先，這樣能促進規模化運營，提升Appear Here作為一站式快閃平臺的形象——人們可以通過該平臺為商店雇人和購買服務。其次，這能為哪怕是最不起眼的零售商增添一絲高級感。
Both are feeling bullish about the future of the high street. But they insist it must adapt. “Your store doesn’t need to be in one place any more,” says Bailey. “Before, if you didn’t have your store, your business was over because where would the person find you? Now you’ve always got a presence that exists.”
對于高街零售業的未來，二人都持樂觀態度。但他們堅稱高街必須適應新形勢。“你的商店沒必要固守在一個地方。”貝利表示，“以前，倘若沒有自己的店面，你的生意就完了，因為人們該去哪里找你？但現在你永遠都有實體窗口。”
And he’s persuasive on the power of the pop-up as a marketing tool. “Digital direct-to-consumer brands are now paying so much for digital advertising.” With social-media reach and the right user-friendly experience, “one little shop can create something that builds a connection with millions of people that don’t even happen to walk past it. Experience is a currency that spreads.”
此外，他關于快閃店營銷功能的看法也非常有說服力。“目前，直接面向消費者(DTC)的數字品牌在數字廣告方面投入巨大。”有了社交媒體的宣傳，再能提供友好的用戶體驗，“一家小店可以與數百萬消費者建立聯系，哪怕這些消費者并沒有親自路過。體驗就是流通貨幣。”
Bailey’s hope is that the pop-up will help make the high street “a place of discovery” once more. “Anyone can have a shop,” he says.
貝利希望，快閃模式能幫助高街零售商店再一次成為“充滿發現之地”。“人人都能開店。”
Some of his favourite anecdotes concern the more unusual enterprises he’s helped bring to life — like the parents who, in lieu of an iPad, bought their son a ?600 birthday pop-up from which to launch his T-shirt brand for two weeks.
他最喜歡講的一些趣事，就是他幫助實現的那些不尋常的店鋪——例如，一對父母花費600英鎊，給他們的兒子買了一個為期兩周的快閃店作為生日禮物，而不是iPad，用來發布他的T恤品牌。
