Showrooming is the practice in retail of having a bricks and mortar location where people can look at products, which they then buy online. It was all the rage about two years ago. Reverse showrooming is the practice of showing people your products and information online, and selling it to them in a bricks and mortar location.
Both of these practices are improved by making the bricks-and-mortar location a place people want to go to just for itself. People like to shop in places that are fun. The tradional function of the city center in the Netherlands as a place people go when they have some free time, as opposed to a place where you are necessarily going to shop, supports both of these and would have to be taken into account I think in putting something like this together. There have been a couple efforts here so far for "rent a plank" shops to showcase products sold by webshops, but they lack a certain...soul, a core, because they really are just a place where you rent a plank. In Kamer52 we jut graduated a coworker to their own shop; it started a year ago as a webshop. They started with our basic membership, which is a rock bottom monthly fee with a pay as you go plan for use of the space and so on. They then held regular events in our workshop space for their clients, once every month or so, then more often. They added having a demonstration area in the front room several days a week, part of the space for inventory and packing and so on, and by last spring they were going full bore as a retail operation 6 days a week. Then they became a wholesale distributor and we had to talk, because at that point their space needs were such that they really would be needing the whole shebang unless we changed our model and focused only on webshops. Which is doable but not really where I was going. So they graduated and now have their own shop in the city center. We still work together on this and that. I am not saying you have to go with webshops and online services (as they tend to support each other) but it is an option and worth thinking about. The folks with the laptops generally like it, it's interesting to them and is a lot mroe entertaining than working at the McDonald's. :-) But what you should focus on in startign one from scratch will depend very much on local conditions I think. On Thursday, October 23, 2014 1:08:56 PM UTC+2, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace wrote: > > Thank you, Jeannine! This helps me think about it a lot. And I completely > agree with you about the importance of community focus. Just not sure if I > can swing it in that kind of context, which of course can't really be > answered till I go there and try to figure out a relatively reliable way to > ask. :) > > What do you mean by "showrooming" and "reverse showrooming"? > > On Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:05:49 PM UTC+2, Jeannine wrote: >> >> I think it's wonderful, Will, really wonderful. Throw away that box for >> a sec, it doesn't have to be just a laptop parking lot. :-) >> >> In the Netherlands they have Seats2Meet in the train stations, in London >> they have a coworkng space on a bus. I feel confident that it can be done >> in a mall. Particularly as you say since the Euro-version of mall and the >> associations with same are not exactly then same as the US vesion. >> >> My experience in building coworking community in nontraditional venues >> has been that you have to start with the location and be true to it in some >> weird, spiritual way. :-) As a gut feeling i would go with companies in >> retail/online services and one ring around it as a starter. >> >> I would look at showrooming and reverse showrooming as well. >> >> But I disagree on one thing: I think the community aspect is the most >> important; shared space in retail has been quite hot here in the NL but if >> the coworkers lack long term relationships other than with the space >> itself, they die off pretty fast. >> >> Any help, support, brainstorming, cheerleading you may beed, please >> please do not hesitate to call on me, you know where to find me. I think >> it's really exciting! >> >> Cheers, >> >> Jeannine >> >> On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 12:15:05 PM UTC+2, Will Bennis, Locus >> Workspace wrote: >>> >>> Hi All, >>> >>> Recently a shopping mall realtor approached me about opening a coworking >>> space in their closed gaming zone/internet cafe. I'd love to hear opinions >>> about this, pros and cons. Before you completely ignore this post as coming >>> from someone who is clearly not from the same coworking planet, here is why >>> I'm even considering it: >>> >>> (1) *With respect to the fact that mall real estate goes for a premium: >>> *At least where I am, a lot of shopping malls are trying to build in >>> community/space quality features that make going to the mall (which lets >>> face it, most people in urban areas sometimes do) a more human experience: >>> space-taking areas like open art galleries, free indoor playgrounds, >>> exhibition space, gardens, etc. These spaces add value/traffic to the mall >>> as a whole, making the rentable space more valuable. This means that the >>> mall owner may be willing to partially fund a coworking space if it adds >>> value to the mall as a whole. >>> >>> (2) *With regard to the importance of community and quality of the work >>> environment: *Sure, malls are horrific. But they're also a reality. >>> Wouldn't creating coworking spaces in the horrific reality of a shopping >>> mall make malls a little less horrific? To the extent you could contribute >>> to the reinvention of malls as more human, community-focused spaces, >>> wouldn't it be a good thing to promote the development of a coworking space >>> in a mall? >>> >>> (3) *With respect to the objection that it wouldn't be sustainable; the >>> kind of people drawn to coworking would not want to do it in a mall: *The >>> malls where I am right now have many fast food restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, >>> etc.) with free bad wifi and people working away on their laptops or in >>> business meetings, or higher end cafes where laptop workers aren't as >>> welcome and places to work aren't comfortable or well suited for meaningful >>> work or quality meetings. I would guess many of the people who work in the >>> area or who are just there while their partners are shopping or their kids >>> are at the movies would love a more human space to work. Yes, they're not >>> the people traditionally drawn to coworking, but is there room for >>> something in between? >>> >>> My big question I guess is whether there would be a way to do this that >>> would create more than the equivalent of a hotel "business center" or an >>> internet cafe? Would there value or demand for a community-focused >>> workspace in a mall? >>> >>> Clearly this couldn't be an ideal community-focused and community-driven >>> coworking space. But is there room for something between the ideal and the >>> "business center" in a shopping mall (or airport or highway >>> gas-station/restaurant off-ramp for that matter)? Something that would help >>> build the sense of community and humanity in these largely community-less >>> spaces? Could it bear the *coworking *name? >>> >>> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. >>> >>> Best, >>> Will >>> >> -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
