BC Business
Top 20 Innovators in BC, The Latest Scoop
Congratulations to The Latest Scoop, #20 in 2011's Most Innovative Companies in B.C. In a city as expensive as Vancouver it’s no wonder that more and more retailers are struggling to pay their ever-rising rents while still remaining fresh, interesting and relevant to today’s shopper. Enter The Latest Scoop, a local business that, our panel agrees, is “reinventing the idea of retail.” ?
In a city as expensive as Vancouver it’s no wonder that more and more retailers are struggling to pay their ever-rising rents while still remaining fresh, interesting and relevant to today’s shopper. Enter The Latest Scoop, a local business that, our panel agrees, is “reinventing the idea of retail.”
Owner Deb Nichol’s constantly changing and globally sourced stock, which includes everything from furniture and housewares to decorations and clothing, is impressive, but it is her approach to bricks and mortar that sets The Latest Scoop apart. Rather than have a permanent storefront in expensive neighbourhoods like Kitsilano and North Vancouver, the company operates solely as a pop-up retail operation.
Nichol takes over an empty storefront twice a year for only six weeks at a time. The operation is twofold: “It’s about real estate,” says a panellist, “but [they are] also able to drive so many sales in a very finite, targeted period.” With Nichol now fielding offers to expand to cities such as Toronto and Portland, the real test for the versatility of The Latest Scoop model is yet to come.