Recently, we traveled up to New York and had some time to cruise around Time Square. The store fronts there fascinate me for two reasons; 1. The experience they build 2. How much money they pay for that experience.
On average, Times Square rental properties cost $100 to $200 per square foot (Do the math For the Virgin Store of about 4,000 sq. ft)! Talk about Park Place and Boardwalk with Hotels, holy geez that’s a lot of dough. Just to put that into perspective, something like The Trump Towers property in Midtown Atlanta goes for around $30 per square foot. The best part is, these stores don’t operate for retail purposes or to turn a profit. Sure, they might sell an overpriced item here and there to Aunt Betty from the Sunshine State, but mainly they are there for Brand Experience.
One place that stood out in my mind, was the M&M store. They had beautiful color coordinated displays of giant stuffed M&M characters, giant tubes of dispensable candy, and my favorite – an M&M mood reader. The mood reader, which had a 10 minute wait, would have the guest stand on a scale to determine the person’s mood, and based on their mood, dispense a colored candy specifically for them. In my opinion it was pretty overrated for the ten minute wait, but Wow what a cool and different interaction. I went home with M&M’s on my mind and on my heart.
They’ve learned that Stores are much more than retail. They are stages to create interaction, memories, and experiences. Your office or store is a Stage, what kind of show do you put on?
*Special Thanks to Meredith from the C Group for some numbers research!
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