It is working on this with Hammerson and RivingtonHark at Leeds Victoria Gate, Birmingham’s Bullring and Grand Central, and Southampton’s Westquay.
The company says that the openings have been driven by a huge demand from online only companies looking for flexible retail space to drive brand awareness and meet their customers in person. It is running a competition to give any SME business the opportunity to take over the new spaces for free.
To enter, click here.
John Hoyle, Sook Founder, says: “There has been a boom in online only sellers in recent years - but many are now looking for 'in real life' opportunities where they can open a short-term physical store to help grow their business and meet customers without the expensive overheads.”
“Our spaces offer everything these online retailers need and more, including modular furniture, digital screens and adjustable window displays to fully brand the space, so businesses can take over a Sook for a few days, or weeks to suit their needs - and all they need to do is turn up with their products.”
Hoyle continues: “We couldn’t think of a better way to launch this new space than to create a competition, giving businesses across the UK the chance to test out our space for free, and to see how they can grow their business with a physical space.”
Sook uses footfall data, sentiment analysis and heatmap analytics, helping occupiers to make the most of their offline experience.It also operates multiple sites in London, Cambridge, Newcastle and Edinburgh, and is looking for more retail spaces across the country.
Hoyle says: “The reality for landlords is that individual short-term arrangements are not efficient, and can be time consuming, often yielding minimal returns.”
“But a fractional leasing model helps us provide occupiers with complete flexibility and we are therefore able to optimise the time we sell, providing landlords with a commercially competitive solution whilst delivering significant placement and CSR benefits.”