Fourpost is putting its hat in the retail arena, but not via the typical model.
The company will make its debut on Nov. 1, opening spaces at the two largest malls in North America: Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. Fourpost’s retail model will include a collection of “studio shops” and eatries designed to connect local businesses, digital natives and other emerging brands with shoppers. The New York City-based company expects to open several additional locations in 2019 across the nation.
According to Fourpost, its model lowers the barrier to entry for brands who want to open a physical store by giving them access to prime real estate and a turnkey solution that includes long-term leases, high rents, capital expenditures and operational logistics. Each studio shop comes with fixtures, signage, lighting, POS hardware, and Wi-Fi, as well as access to event space and other amenities. Brands can choose one of three shapes for their space: cube, rectangle or triangle.
In addition, Fourpost’s SaaS dashboard gives participating brand members access to tools and resources, including dedicated onboarding and account management, business training, calendars and event bookings, and billing. The dashboard helps the brands navigate storefront data, and gain useful insights and analytics to grow their businesses. Members can also connect, share information, and ask questions of one another.
“Today, brands are demanding better options for brick-and-mortar,” said Fourpost founder and CEO Mark Ghermezian. “The industry has not kept pace with modern retail. We built Fourpost to completely re-architect the process by building a community and breathing fresh air into what has been a stale industry between landlords and brands for hundreds of years.”
Fourpost was founded by Mark Ghermezian, whose family’s Triple Five Group operates the largest shopping malls in North America. Prior to Fourpost, Ghermezian was the co-founder and CEO of Braze (formerly Appboy) where he, together with his co-founders, successfully raised over $180 million and grew Braze to become a leader in lifecycle marketing.
