– Popup is the concept for me right now, says general manager Gro Molde in Min Boutique. Molde stands in the temporary premises at Høvik outside Oslo among colorful wool sweaters, dresses, shoes and winter coats. New customers keep coming in through the door. A few months ago, she closed the shop in the center of Sandvika, which she had run for many years. Two corona shutdowns, tough times with high electricity prices, increased costs and delays in product deliveries became a lot. Instead, Molde decided to sell its goods by developing a so-called pop-up shop at markets and in vacant premises. Pop-up shops are a phenomenon that has spread in larger cities and towns in recent years. Vacant premises are filled for a few days or weeks with traders who have goods they want to sell. They use social media to promote the sale. So does Molde. For the past week, Molde has had a pop-up shop on the first floor of an office building. – I have sold an incredible amount. More than I made per day in the shop actually, says Molde. Here she sells clothes from the range she had in the store and in addition to brand new clothes and shoes. She avoids high fixed costs such as electricity and rent. For now, many of the traditional shops are experiencing declining sales, rising purchase prices and labor costs and galloping electricity prices. – Going forward, there is pessimism to be traced. It’s a troubled time for the industry, many negative factors are hitting at the same time, says managing director Anne-Cecilie Kaltenborn at NHO Service og Handel. FAITH IN THE FUTURE: Models Molde Bakken and Gro Molde believe in pop-up shops. Photo: Anne Cecilie Remen / news Nye tider A recent survey by NHO Service og Handel shows that as many as 47 percent of member companies in trade are pessimistic about future prospects. – We see a clear slowdown. Retail is probably the industry that first notices that people are tightening their wallets and avoiding purchasing things that they don’t necessarily need, such as more expensive goods and investments, says Anne-Cecilie Kaltenborn in NHO Service og Handel. Read also: Too bad if electricity prices are going to break us The organization Virke’s forecasts also show that stores in building materials, furniture, electronics and other capital goods will notice that consumers’ purchasing power is weakened. Virke predicts a decline in sales of between 5 and 7 per cent in these industries. When the expenses for the stores increase sharply at the same time, this will be clearly felt in the accounts. REDUNDANCY: Managing director Anne-Cecilie Kaltenborn at NHO Service and Trade believes that redundancies are inevitable in the retail trade Photo: Anne Cecilie Remen Redundancies From being an industry that has had challenges with recruiting enough employees and getting goods into the store quickly enough, is reality turned upside down. – We see that some companies have to downsize. It is inevitable that there will be redundancies, and we believe that some stores will close. But we hope that the companies adjust so that they get through this difficult time, says Kaltenborn. Norwegian retailing provides work for around 390,000 employees, many of whom are young. FOCUS ON SERVICE: Providing personal service and good guidance is important for survival, believes Gro Molde Photo: Anne Cecilie Remen / news Gro Molde i Min Boutique is glad she changed operations in time. – This is a win-win situation for both us and the customers. We can offer lower prices than competitors in regular stores and at the same time have more flexibility. I can work a lot in periods, and less in other weeks, and get help with the shop when the need is greatest, says Molde. Be creative In order to avoid a time of crisis with bankruptcies and large rounds of redundancies, the NHO director believes that the industry must take action and run shops in new ways. Pop-up shops are one way to solve this, but there are many different ways to cut costs and work smarter. – The stores must change their operations. It’s about rethinking, working differently so that you use less energy and electricity and, for example, stay open fewer hours. In addition, I think it will be more important to retain customers by offering new services such as home delivery and repair of goods, and not least personal service will be extra important in the future, says Kaltenborn. In the Boutique pop-up store, the owner and the customers agree that personal service is important. – Gro gives good advice and knows exactly what I need. I don’t have time to spend a lot of time in shops, but popping in here on the way home from work is very nice, says Elise Caspersen, who buys a variety of tights and a light blue wool jumper.
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Times of crisis in the retail trade: – The shops must change their operations – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
