By Andria Cheng | Forbes
In another sign that mall operators are thinking outside the box in their attempts to make themselves relevant to today’s consumers, Macerich, a major U.S. mall operator, is unveiling a new concept called BrandBox that’s intended to help popular online brands open new physical stores without the typical leasing strings and red tape attached.
The first iteration will come alive this weekend at Macerich’s Tysons Corner Center in Tysons, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. Five “digital native” brands—including mattress firm Nectar Sleep and Naadam, a luxury apparel startup that sells rare cashmere it says is sustainably sourced from Mongolian herders—will each open a store measuring roughly 1,500 square feet inside the BrandBox space Macerich has set aside. DKNY, a name traditionally found inside department stores, will also open a store there. These brands will sit in the same mall with big traffic-driving tenants, including Apple and Tesla, as part of a “co-tenancy” agreement.
