After Operating More than 7,500 Pop-Up Stores, Here’s What I’ve Learned - Q&A With Managing Director, Scott Jackson

By: Scott Jackson – Managing Director, Blue Butterfly LLC

Pop-up stores have revolutionized the retail industry, and few know this better than Scott Jackson, an industry pioneer who has opened and helped to operate more than 7,500 of these temporary spaces. In this Q&A, Scott shares the insights, challenges, and triumphs of navigating the dynamic world of pop-up retail. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, a curious landlord, or looking to close some deals of your own, his expertise will leave you inspired.

What inspired you to focus on pop-up stores as a business model?

Several years back, we started to notice a slow, steady decline in mall retail performance. Retailers would sign up for 10-year leases, but annual rent escalations combined with declining sales made the economics unsustainable. By the second or third year, many stores became unprofitable and in some cases closed down. 

I saw an opportunity in shorter-term leases tied to sales performance. This way, landlords could keep spaces occupied while retailers maintained profitability. Over time, this model opened doors for smaller brands and test concepts to enter malls and minimize investment risks. Around 2010, I made a hard pivot to temporary and pop-up retail, and I’ve never looked back. It’s become my area of expertise because I saw its lasting potential.

What are the key criteria that you consider most important when selecting a location for a pop-up store?

For me, it’s all about traffic. You need to be in a visible location within the mall's “energy zones”, the areas with the most foot traffic, typically in the intersection of entrances, food courts, or anchor stores. Every center has a different “center court”. This dominant floor of the mall is often determined by where the cosmetics departments are located. If cosmetics are on the lower level, which they usually are, that's usually the dominant floor of a shopping center. It’s all about positioning yourself where the energy flows. 

It’s crucial to also consider market trends and demographics. It’s all about aligning the demographic profile of the brand with the right shopping center.

How did you scale from your first pop-up stores to over 7,500? What were your biggest challenges scaling up?

It started off small, I started many years ago doing pop-up stores for Brookstone. We began with six stores in the first year, three inline stores and three kiosks and learned from there gradually scaling to 50, 100, 150 and beyond. Then I worked for Go Retail Group, opening 1,000 stores a year. The biggest challenge has always been logistics. Scaling requires efficient operations, from managing truckloads of fixtures to ensuring every store is staffed and ready to go. Missing Black Friday, for instance, can derail an entire season. Building a network of operators has been critical to scaling quickly.

What unique challenges arise when negotiating leases for temporary spaces compared to long-term leases?

The biggest challenge is the landlord’s right to terminate the lease with little notice if a permanent tenant comes along. For example, at the last minute, a tenant like Lululemon will decide to do a relocation and they can take your space. For pop-up retailers, especially those planning to stay longer than the holiday season, this uncertainty is a major risk. It’s essential to plan for the possibility of relocation and to understand the mall’s leasing dynamics upfront. The license agreements for temporary deals are usually fairly simple and standardized as long as there’s mutual interest between the landlord and the merchant for the use; and the retailer has good credit and enough capital to guarantee the rent payments or fees.

How do you build relationships with landlords to facilitate the high volume of transactions needed for pop-up stores?

It’s all about relationships. At Blue Butterfly, our team has built long-standing relationships and connections with leasing teams across the country. Bringing in unique and capable tenants and being proactive helps build trust and encourages future collaboration. I think that's kind of the secret sauce for Blue Butterfly. 

What role does timing play in securing spaces, and how do you navigate peak demand seasons?

Timing is everything. When there’s a good fit between space and tenant, you have to move quickly. Tenants need to be prepared to act fast, and we vet our clients to ensure they’re ready to commit. During peak seasons, it’s a balancing act of prioritizing the right tenants for the most in-demand spaces.

How do you ensure compliance with local zoning and permitting regulations?

We rely heavily on mall management and specialty leasing teams, they know exactly what needs to happen to secure necessary permits and licenses in their center. I would encourage the retailer to do a detailed site survey of the space so they know what to expect and then collaborate with the mall operations team, to get the process started as quickly as possible. In some municipalities this process is very difficult to navigate and hiring an expeditor is necessary. The worst case scenario is you get somebody to sign a lease and then find out it's going to take two months to get an occupancy permit, business license or a fire inspection. So it is critical this process gets handled upfront.

How have you seen the pop-up store trend impact the broader retail real estate market?

Pop-ups bring innovation and emerging tenants to established retail centers. What I love the most is when you take a brand out to retail on a kiosk or into a temporary inline space and they flourish. Then, they move on to year-round agreements and eventually transition into long-term deals. I feel like it’s an eco system, allowing brands to start small and slow, testing the centers, refine their concepts, and grow into longer-term deals. It’s incredibly rewarding to see entrepreneurs evolve from one-store tests to operating 10 or 20 stores or more. Those are the kinds of things we truly enjoy doing. We love nurturing new concepts and working with entrepreneurs and small retailers to help them grow and expand. 

What type of properties have proven most effective for pop-up stores?

It depends on the brand. Some thrive in lifestyle centers or urban street-side locations, while others perform best in traditional malls or even unconventional spaces like casinos. The key is understanding the brand’s core consumer and matching it to the right environment.

How do you anticipate shifts in the retail or real estate market will influence the future of pop-up stores?

The market is becoming more and more competitive especially post pandemic. There has been a consolidation in shopping centers across the country, and there is a clear delineation between A and B malls versus C and D Malls. Many of the A and B malls are receiving development investments from their owners and being redeveloped beautifully. While some claim that retail and malls are dying, the reality is quite the opposite, A and B centers are experiencing high occupancy rates. As a result, competition for space in these centers will increase. Retailers looking to secure locations will need to be more polished, with fully developed concepts, and ready to hit the ground running. For brands that operate a large number of pop-up stores like 25 or more during the holiday season, having a portfolio of locations can sometimes give you an advantage in securing spots in these high-performing centers by doing multiple deals with landlords.

What have you learned about successful pop-up stores?

Success comes down to three things: having a clear consumer proposition that includes a great product, choosing the right location, and assembling the right team. You have to know who your consumer is and be ready to market to them, in the right center, in the right location. A strong retail experience depends on having the right people on the sales floor. Owners need to be hands-on and attentive, ensuring their stores reflect their vision. Poor staffing decisions can make or break a business. In my years in retail, I’ve found that having the right people on the sales floor can increase sales by 50%. Someone who engages with customers, turns on the lights and music, and is present makes a huge difference. When opening a pop-up store, it’s critical for owners to be involved, even if it’s not their primary business, and regularly check in to ensure the store runs well.

Businesses often fail when they hire people who aren’t suited for retail, such as family members or friends who don’t have the necessary skills. Poorly managed stores can look and perform badly. One rule I live by is never allowing chairs on the sales floor. Customers expect a welcoming energy, not employees sitting behind counters or staring at their phone screens, it’s not inviting and it creates a negative experience. 

What advice would you give to real estate personnel or landlords about working with pop-up clients?

Pop-up retail provides an opportunity for landlords to incubate new concepts for their centers. They should embrace the opportunity to support these fresh, and exciting new retailers, as these tenants have the potential to evolve into the next generation of long-term tenants. They should always be on the lookout for the next big idea and not be afraid to bring those ideas to a landlord, oftentimes the big landlords will even invest in the concept because they're excited about it. That is where the next big idea or the next big store chain is going to come from, somebody that has a passion for a product that consumers connect with. We all have to be flexible and constantly looking for the next big thing, sometimes it requires us to go out and to shop in alternative places like local markets. You never know when you're going to find somebody with a brilliant idea. At Blue Butterfly, when we discover these exciting new concepts, that's when the magic really begins–we work closely with our retail clients to guide them every step of the way and help them learn how to successfully run a retail business and to grow it.

How do you educate clients on the unique opportunities and risks of doing a pop-up store?

Retail is more intricate than it seems, and it's important that we take the time to guide clients through the entire process. It's not just about showing them how things work but also about preparing them for what they need to succeed. Many people underestimate the level of detail involved in retail, from managing finances to creating a visually engaging space. We have honest conversations about budgets and help clients find resources for essentials like window graphics, signage, fixtures, and lighting. I’ve seen people say, "I’ll just open a space, fill it with random items, sit back, and expect customers to buy." As retailers, they won’t be satisfied with their results. Landlords won’t be pleased with the store’s appearance or performance, and if another tenant comes along, they could lose the space. Many underestimate what it takes to create a compelling retail experience. We aim to set them up for success by addressing these elements from the start.

What steps do you take to help brands optimize or visualize the use of their temporary space? When they can't see the vision how do you help get that deal over the finish line for them? 

We have experience in visual and store design, and the expertise to help clients turn their vision into reality. We can work with them to develop a plan for merchandising and marketing their store. We also have resources for fixture fabrication, sourcing resale fixtures, painting, wallpapering, build graphics, lighting, and all the other elements that go into creating a retail space. We can assess a space and guide someone through the planning process, because of all the work we have done building new concepts. This gives me a unique advantage, so we’re a bit of a secret weapon for someone who is looking to launch a new concept. 

Want to open your own pop-up store? We can help! Send us an email: info@bluebutterfllyllc.com