• Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 19, 2009 10:40 AM

Andrea Chang takes a look at some of the pop-up stores that have appeared in Southern California recently, including one opened by Gap on trendy Robertson Boulevard to promote its new premium denim line that drew Halle Berry and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz to its launch party.

And Toys R Us has leveraged the space glut caused by the recession by grabbing dozens of temporary locations around the country to launch Holiday Express toy shops. "Once we learn more about where these work and how these work, we'll be able to maintain a pop-up strategy in good times and bad," says CEO Jerry Storch.

Then there are the interactive pop-up displays that JC Penney used to tout its back-to-school offerings in half a dozen Southern California malls this year. The pop-ups would send text messages to compatible cell phones when shoppers came within 35 feet.

Chang says the pop-up trend could reshape the nation's retail landscape by making it easier for merchants to test new locations and products with little commitment. And there's no sign of abatement. "It's something that's just getting bigger and bigger every day," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, tells her.

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