Corporate Sponsors Cash In on Pop-Up Shop Trend

The pop-up shop phenomenon is shaping up to be retailer's MO of choice -- no year-long leases to contend with, plus free hype thanks to limited-duration sales. But it was only a matter of time until other brands became aware of the trend and its potential for exposure. In addition to the two soon-to-open open pop-up shops -- Refinery29's Save Fashion part deux and Here/Nau/NYC, each of which I noted earlier this week -- a new pop-up shop selling shoes is slated to hit the same Soho neighborhood tomorrow. But what makes this pop-up shop one-of-a-kind? It's sponsored by a liquor company.

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Bailey’s Irish Cream—yes, the brown stuff that’s probably been accumulating dust in your parents’ liquor cabinet for decades—is going to start hawking shoes, says Racked.com. Specifically, “this temporary boutique is shilling high-end, brand-name shoes by the likes of Sergio Rossi, Farylrobin, Vanessa Noel, L.A.M.B., Barbara Bui, Claudio Merazzi and much more—all marked down to $75 a pair,” says Time Out New York. While the concept of a liquor-sponsored pop-up shoe store (open Wednesday thru Friday, 11am–7pm) may seem a bit bizarre, Bailey’s corporate heart is in the right place. TOMNY adds, “Baileys is donating the proceeds to the nonprofit Clothes Off Our Back.”