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The Gathering Shops launches retail concept in New Jersey mall

By Robyn Turk

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Retail

New Jersey’s Westfield Garden State Plaza is launching a new retail concept. The Gathering Shops, an innovative retail startup with the aim of offering a physical retail opportunity to digitally native brands, opened an experiential retail space within New Jersey’s largest mall this week.

“Westfield Garden State Plaza is one of only a handful of malls in the area that hits all of the checkboxes,” The Gathering Shops’ co-founder and operational director Sal Martorano told Fashion United. “It’s ranked as a top 10 mall in both foot traffic and sales per square foot. The proximity to [New York City] and expanding demographic is something most malls do not get. The Gathering Shops is something that can be marketed to multiple demographics in a specific area. We have the ability to pick and choose the designers and brands that the shoppers in the mall are looking to buy.”

While newly launched brick and mortar retailers often struggle to bring in foot traffic, Martorano shared that strategically selecting the location within the Westfield Garden State Plaza will help to prevent this common struggle from affecting The Gathering Shops, as the mall generates its own traffic. “If we can get 10 percent of the 18 million shoppers that come to Garden State Plaza per year, we feel we can create some great buzz,” he said.

Martorano explained that most of the brands with whom The Gathering Shops partners have only experienced online retail with a few various pop up shops that are local to each specific brand. Martorano and his co-founder, Brandt Mandia, hope this new store will give a voice and platform to emerging designers who do not have an existing brick-and-mortar presence.

Anna Maria Sandegren, The Gathering Shops’ curator, noted that the process of going into wholesale and partnering with a large department store can be “financially disastrous for small brands, unknown brands and emerging designers.” She explained that the brands within The Gathering Shops are looking to gain exposure in the physical retail space, a space which is typically almost impossible for small-scale brands to infiltrate. “We offer our designers something greater than shelves amongst hundreds of other brands,” she said. “We give them their own store within our walls, managed and operated by themselves. It’s an incredible opportunity that allows them to be a part of our concept and community.”

The retail concept integrates consumer interests with traditional retail

The store is designed with around 15 to 20 boutique pods in which brands can secure a unique space for shoppers to experience. Additionally, The Gathering Shop’s e-commerce site serves as an extension of the store, creating a global facing window for designers.

“To survive in today’s market, brick and mortar stores have to appeal to all of the consumer’s senses,” Martorano said. “It can’t just be that they come in, buy something and leave. You have to create events and experiences to continue moving forward as a successful brick and mortar. Being able to have an omnichannel experience in retail shopping is where the new consumer is going to be.”

The Gathering Shops is built with a unique retail experience, specifically tailored to to Generation Y and Z shoppers with an integrated, customer-centric shopping experiences. Martorano and his team recognize that the newer generation of shoppers are interested in compelling causes and therefore select brands with interests and beliefs that match their consumers’ mindsets. “The more they connect with these stories, causes and designers, the more apt they are to buy,” said Martorano. “They are socially conscious and match this to their wants and needs when shopping in a brick and mortar store.”

The Gathering Shops will open on Monday, November 19 and hopes to use its brick and mortar location to engage with both customers and brands and to bring both parties together in a unique, engaging manner through the use of omnichannel retail, events and social media. “Essentially, we strive to find the right formula of combining technology, fashion and unique experiences,” Sandegren said.

Photos: courtesy of The Gathering Shops

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