A Department Store For Online Emerging Brands: Welcome To The First Co.Lab In Wales

Small emerging brands looking for a way to make the leap from a temporary pop-up to a full-size store now have a stepping stone in that journey in the form of a new micro-retail destination in Wales, U.K.

Pop-up platform Lone Design Club and powerful real estate developer and shopping center owner, Landsec, have partnered to create Co.Lab a venture that will utilize large, vacant retail spaces to support selected direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands that currently trade online.

The first of several potential spaces will open at the end of September in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, which is gaining a reputation as a retail hotspot and fashion hub thanks to half of Cardiff’s population being under 35. Co.Lab will launch in St. David’s, the largest shopping mall in the city, and will be present until at least Christmas.

The 5,000-square-foot area will effectively be a department store—branded Co.Lab—and housing more than 80 labels. They can choose leases of one to three months to test their potential in physical retail. Units available are large shop-in-shops, smaller concession spaces, or kiosks/counters.

The environment will be a one-stop shop for independent brands. There will be a shared event space (designed for product launches and customer engagement events) and the whole operation will be built on a community-focused model where emerging labels can learn from each other in what is claimed to be a low-cost way to enter physical retail. Rents start at £500/month plus a commission on sales.

A U.K. first

In an exclusive interview, Lone Design Club’s founder and CEO, Rebecca Morter, told me: “This is the first time anyone’s executed a project like this in the U.K., although there are similar models in South America. We hope this pilot will develop into a much bigger relationship with Landsec who are on a mission to bring more emerging, younger, and innovative digital-only brands into their portfolio.”

She added: “The feedback we’ve been getting from brands in our existing locations is that while pop-ups are great for testing, and building confidence, there’s a gap between doing that and taking an actual store when they might have to start paying £20,000-plus a month. In addition, when it comes to moving out of London, brands often don’t know where to go. The reason is that it’s very difficult for e-commerce businesses to get good data on which locations they should invest in.”

Co.Lab—which has other U.K. locations up its sleeve—believes its stepping-stone model will usher in a new era of retail. It aims to revolutionize the shopping experience by providing a platform for small retailers and shoppers through hosted events, better engagement, and enhanced brand visibility; essentially through curation and event programming in collaboration with tenants—just like a traditional department store.

Co.Lab will employ a central community manager to run the destination and event spaces which has a packed programme through to December. Morter said: “Having supported over 3,000 brands to enter retail locations over the past six years, we saw the need for easier access, and relevant, community-driven spaces. Opening a store is no easy feat, and often, we forget the marketing and community that is essential to its success.”

Landsec has one of Britain’s biggest retail portfolios including the massive Bluewater shopping center in Kent, where the company increased its stake to 66% in June; Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth; Southside in Wandsworth, London; and Trinity in Leeds. Co.Lab will help with the company’s placemaking initiatives designed to increase the time consumers spend at its retail destinations.

In a statement, Landsec brand director Ilana Sarner said: “We’re excited to welcome a new roster of D2C brands. This is a new way of retailing, where we bring together a community of brands to our customers. We’re opening up an opportunity for an exciting new pipeline and offering our guests a new point of discovery.”

D2Cs want to get physical

According to Shopify’s recent Future of Commerce report, 32% of D2C brands said they would be establishing or expanding their use of pop-up and in-person experiences this year, with 31% planning on establishing or expanding their physical retail footprints.

One reason is to get direct interaction. Commenting on making in-store activities truly experiential, Shopify Retail’s senior product marketing lead Kevin MacGillivray took soap as an example. He said: “(You can) try the soaps, smell them, use them. Do what you can only do in-store and add that bit of magic you can’t get from buying on a website.”

Co.Lab’s model can, in theory, bring this kind of “magic” to smaller D2C players—and to consumers. By giving niche online brands a leg-up before they commit to taking full-scale stores, and the associated high rents that go with that, Landsec will also have a pool of businesses to choose from for their full-size units—if they make the grade.

As with previous Lone Design Club activations, the Cardiff store will allow brands to track digital engagement, online sales, and web traffic using a digital dashboard. The data should, for example, make it easier for D2C brands to see the impact of their Welsh physical presence on their online sales. Ideal D2C candidates will have sustainability credentials and follow eco-friendly practices.