Shaftesbury has launched a ‘Soho Incubator’ initiative giving budding UK brands with sustainability credentials across fashion, beauty, lifestyle and homeware the chance to win a free three-month pop-up shop this autumn/winter.
The chosen emerging brand will receive full support from Shaftesbury and This Is Soho to set up and launch for the first time in the West End, sitting alongside a host of independent and flagship brands. Along with the pop-up space, the winners will receive £5,000 towards internal fit-out plus exclusive one-to-one business mentoring.
The opportunity sees Shaftesbury look for brands with “big dreams and great attitudes” which are ready to take the next step with a physical store. Entrants will be judged on their sustainability credentials, strength of business, marketing plans, creativity, design excellence and consumer appeal by a judging panel made up of Shaftesbury retail director, Samantha Bain-Mollison; Shaftesbury head of retail activations, Emma Steele; Shaftesbury head of sustainability, Matt Smith; Grazia shopping editor, Julia Harvey; head of retail at RÆBURN, Jolyon Bexon; and contributing editor at TheIndustry.fashion, Tom Bottomley.
Emma Steele, Shaftesbury’s head of retail activations, commented: “Soho is home to many exciting independent and concept stores, so this initiative allows us to continue our support of UK-based brands and entrepreneurs. We are seeking creative ideas that will fit with the existing Soho retail mix. The project follows the successful Seven Dials Incubator project which saw four female entrepreneurs win pop-up spaces in our Seven Dials location.”
Matt Smith, Shaftesbury head of sustainability, added: ” With sustainability being at the forefront of Shaftesbury’s decisions, it is intriguing to see what new concepts could come to the area and align with our already conscious retail mix. This Is Soho is all about fresh and new ideas and we are looking forward to welcoming an upcoming sustainable brand to the destination.”
