Mary Kay Pops-up

Mary Kay Pops-up

Pop-up store entrance

The pop-up shop is a relatively new concept still in the UK.  We’ve seen it in a number of guises recently, from one-off student designer offerings with original garments for sale, to international labels and brands using the format to launch on a more local scale.  Not so long ago US brand Kate Spade held a pop-up store in Covent Garden, with great success and style!

We were invited to the Mary Kay cosmetic pop-up shop in Cardiff recently, and whilst we don’t often cover beauty products, we thought this one worth mentioning.  We featured some graphics of the pop-up shop on the blog previously, so it was good to see it arrive in the capital.

In this instance Mary Kay used the pop-up to show what the brand is all about and for customers to have a user experience of the products.  There was nothing for sale and in fact most people walked away with a make-over and a goody bag.  It was all about the experience and very much a customer relations building exercise.

Mary Kay has been trading in the US for many years and for those of you unfamiliar with the brand, they sell on the same sort of principles as Avon, i.e. via an agent network.

I thoroughly enjoyed my pamper session, and the consultants I met were extremely professional and knowledgeable about the products.

With free cupcakes, a complete skin care session and make-over, and a photo-shoot if you wanted before and after shots, it was certainly  a good way to introduce prospective new customers and partners to the brand.

It will be interesting to see how Mary Kay further spreads the word across the UK, about the brand and the products, the pop-up shop was certainly a success.