A permanent trend of pop-up shops

Big Little Fudge has only about 200 square feet of space at Market Street in the Woodlands, but can still lay claim to some big-time retail neighbors: stores such as Tiffany & Co., Norton Ditto and Sur La Table.

Unlike those stores, however, Big Little Fudge is only open there a few weeks out of the year. Robin Strickland, owner of the Montgomery-based candy company, sells her 13 varieties of fudge at Market Street between the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Big Little Fudge is one of many temporary – or pop-up – stores in Houston and the nation.

Temporary stores are a big and growing industry. In many instances, they are owned by small business operators – mom-and-pop-ups, if you will. And the Christmas season is their prime time.

Strickland says her pop-up version of Big Little Fudge serves several functions. “It’s brand awareness for us,” she said. “People find out we exist and have a permanent store in Montgomery, and that’s almost as important as sales at the booth.”

While many pop-up businesses are family-owned, national chains have some, too, and they can get creative. In 2002, Target had a floating pop-up store, a 220-foot vessel, on the Hudson River in New York. This year, Dylan’s Candy Bar has a 7,000-square-foot holiday pop-up shop in Manhattan featuring a life-size gingerbread house.