Boxpark

But as these moveable businesses continue to emerge in their different forms, brands must be more adventurous in order to make their mark. Which is why Roger Wade, former owner of fashion brand Boxfresh, is sailing into uncharted territory by bringing to East London ‘The World’s First Pop-Up Mall…’.

Boxpark is to be a 2-tier retail park, comprising 40 mobile shipping containers that will each be occupied by individual brands on a temporary basis. Mind you, this is not just a retail space, but ‘a living, fertile community packed with talent, innovation and attitude’. With an additional 20 units for books, bikes, art galleries and cafes, it is to be a place for us to soak-up and enjoy the ultimate brand experience.

So what will Boxpark bring to the table apart from being Shoreditch’s edgier answer to Stratford City’s Westfield? The park will offer lesser-known brands an inexpensive and relatively non-committal opportunity to grow. Tying in with the current ‘nowism’ trend, it will satisfy the urge for life in fast pace. Brands can be more spontaneous, losing the time lapse required to set up a permanent enterprise, whilst evolving and adapting in keeping with consumer needs. All with a low-risk outcome. What’s more, such a radical concept can mean welcome publicity for brands, positive or negative. Supposedly a mall set up as an emergency response to an earthquake in Christchurch is facing a legal threat for breaching intellectual property rights from Wade and his team, prompting tweets of the ilk, ‘Boxpark ppl are pondlife of the basest order’.

Box Park is set to open in December 2011, and there’s also good news for Pedro: