Pop-up! This instruction from Kunu, surfing instructor wunderkind from the film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” seems to have found a receptive ear in an unlikely source.
Porsche has created a temporary store in the meatpacking district of New York City to introduce a new group of people to the historic brand. Present only for a few weeks, this ghost-like setup can be found at 446 West 14th Street. Because showrooms can be intimidating with their focus on, you know, cars, Porsche decided that a new approach should be taken.
This store—called a “pop-up”—has a twist. Instead of Macans, Cayennes and 911s inside, visitors will instead find shelves of old-school vinyl records and premium Bose headphones. Has Porsche lost its mind? Possibly. But before you call Virgin Media’s empty music stores to ask if this is a good idea, we should explain Porsche’s caveat.
Instead of listening to rubbish like Cat Stevens, listeners will hear instead about “Porsches in racing or in Hollywood films. One choice explains Porsche design DNA with animated sketches.” Porsches, after all, are meant to be driven, and a showroom in the middle of Manhattan wouldn’t help much with that. A chic listening environment with trendy vinyls and an exclusive, limited-time only location, however, might be a better way to plant the seeds of what makes Porsche so great.
And chic this location is. Open between Sept. 16 and Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Porsche’s pop-up store is right next to Diane von Furstenerg, who resides there permanently, a Giorgio Armani store across the street, and an Apple store a little ways off.
Porsche knows as well as anyone that brand-building takes time. And fickle is the memory span of the American consumer, particularly the wealthy one. Finding creative new ways to connect—even with a crazy idea like a record store—might be a good idea, after all.
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