Founder of Airbnb-style platform for shops says landlords must embrace pop-up trend to keep high streets alive

The founder of a Airbnb-style platform for shops says landlords need to embrace the trend of pop-up stores to stop the high street dying.

Ross Bailey, who launched Appear Here in 2012, said long-term shop leases are no longer fit for purpose and that brands are now looking for places to open up temporary stores.

The platform works to find shops with flexible retail leases before matching them with brands and budding entrepreneurs, including Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and Chanel.

Mr Bailey, 27, said the company opened 4,500 shops in the capital last year, growing by nearly 300 per cent.

At the same time, the traditional high street is under increasing pressure, with several big brands announcing sweeping closures of the past few years.

Marks & Spencer announced this week that it will shut another of its 110 stores, while Jamie Oliver also announced all but three of his restaurants would be closing down.

Sir Philip Green also announced that he would be closing 23 stores across his Arcadia group.

Speaking to the Standard, Mr Bailey said: “It feels like this isn’t just an economic glitch. This is a huge structural shift.

"Five years ago every street looked the same with the same brands, same shops and same window displays.

"Now you walk from store to store in London and there are amazing little restaurants and shops and jazz cafes, talks, and exhibitions.”

The company has around 200,000 clients on its books, ranging from a Syrian refugee’s pop-up restaurant to fashion brands such as Levi's.

It recently worked with grime artist Stormzy, who opened a newsagent-style pop-up promoting Relentless energy drinks.

Mr Bailey likens the process to Airbnb, Uber or online dating. Brands can hire spaces for as long as they want, sometimes for just a day.

Depending on location and other factors, prices for the space vary from £50 a day to tens of thousands.

In December alone, the company opened on 400 sites.

Appear Here also claim to be the biggest retail brokerage in New York and Paris.

Mr Bailey is now pushing for more “forward thinking” landlords to embrace flexible leases.

He said: “Landlords are looking for big 10-year contracts but major retailers are shutting down shops.

"To me, that they think that is a secure move is mad. To me, it is a thing of the past.

“It means getting landlords to see this, open up to business potential and then inspire others.

"With more space we can launch more and more ideas and make London an even more amazing place to be."

Appear Here already has an endless list of diverse success stories including, Syrian refugee, Imad Alarnab, who set up his own Choose Love restaurant for a month with the platform in a unit on Columbia Road.

Six months later, he had fed 4,000 people and raise £100,000 with his restaurant was still operating in the Benthal Green space, and now he is setting up permanent establishments.

Mr Bailey said: “We are giving people access. We are showing them stories. We are trying to build a community. We are trying to show people that anything is possible."

Major brands like Levis, Adidas, Chanel and Coca-cola have also worked with the platform.

After leaving school in Buckinghamshire at 16 and living in London, aged 20, Mr Bailey's venture began when he opened his own Soho pop-up store called Rock and Rule for two weeks in 2012.

He persuaded a landlord to let him the space during the Queen’s golden Jubilee, and hundreds turned up to buy his “Lizzy Stardust” T-shirts.

The idea was born was US sports brand Under Armour got in touch with Mr Bailey and asked him to arrange a similar pop-up.