Revo has launched a competition to find new entrepreneurs in retail, with its members offering the winners free space and marketing advice.
Hatch by Revo is backed by a number of high-profile retailers and landlords, including Landsec, Hammerson, Westfield, M&G Real Estate, Harcourt and Ellandi.
The British Independent Retailers Association is also involved in the competition.
There are no restrictions on what type of businesses can enter. Anyone from online-only outlets looking to experiment with a physical presence to food stalls wanting bigger premises, can apply.
Entrants, who can apply online, will come before judges in May. The competition will run for two months, with winners announced in May.
The exact offer varies from location to location, but all winners will benefit from free rent, with business rates and service charges covered too. They will also receive professional marketing and business support to help promote their concept and a year’s free bira membership, which includes a retail insurance scheme, card processing, free legal advice and preferential banking rates.
Current locations include Westfield Stratford City in London, St David’s Dewi Sant in Cardiff, Silverburn in Glasgow, the Galleries in Tyne & Wear, Parkway Shopping Centre in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, and Bloomfields in County Down, Northern Ireland.
The pop-up retail market is worth at least £2.3bn, according to Revo, while major retailers, including e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, are opening pop-ups of their own.
Samantha Sen, head of policy and campaigns at Revo, said: “Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy and a source of great creativity and innovation. We believe that the retail success stories of tomorrow will come from today’s pop-up shops, kiosks, and e-tailers as dozens of brands and chains we now know and love have proven. Innocent Drinks, for example, started as a stall at a music festival.
“However, Hatch is about more than just identifying the next wave of entrepreneurs and talent who will shape – it is a demonstration of the industry’s commitment to invest in the communities we are embedded in. Yet there is only so much the industry itself can do, we need to see urgent action from government at all levels to reduce the burden on retailers and revitalise our high streets.”
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