WeWork debuts temporary shoppable London office

Dive Brief:

WeWork partnered with influencer shopping platform LIKEtoKNOW.it to open a shoppable pop-up space at Aviation House in Holborn, London on Tuesday, according to a company press release emailed to Retail Dive.
During the month of January, the office will offer items from Matalan, Urban Outfitters, Amazon and Debenhams. The space is shoppable through the LIKEtoKNOW.it app. The two brands worked together on a similar concept in Miami last year.
Earlier this week, the co-working space company rebranded as The We Company to put all of its business ventures under one company umbrella, according to a post on its website.

Dive Insight:

With this new pop-up experiment, WeWork continues to dip its toes deeper into the retail pool. In February, it struck a deal with J.Crew and LinkedIn on a panel series targeting entrepreneurs in major metro areas like New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Philadelphia. On the retail side of things, J. Crew launched a new wear-to-work collection and a campaign featuring WeWork members styled in the apparel pieces. WeWork also debuted some J. Crew pop-up shops exclusive to its members.

This summer, the co-working conglomerate introduced WeMRKT, an expanded version of its Honesty Market, offering apparel, office supplies, fresh flowers and food.

Then in October, WeWork tried another retail partnership on for size. At least 15 locations added Rent the Runway drop-off centers in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Miami. WeWork also began hosting Rent the Runway pop-ups at several locations, and "spotlighting 10 influential female WeWork members," in a "Women of the Future" campaign.

As WeWork morphs into a company with greater interests now in markets that complement its co-working spaces, retail is an obvious expansion. It's also mutually beneficial to brands like Rent the Runway, which only has five stores and doesn't plan for many more. WeWork's latest pop-up allows it to build its network with retail influencers at the pulse of online trends.