About This Project
Background & Strategy
French Toast is the #1 national brand in school wear, offering a quality, versatile product that is school-centric and affordable. Upon winning a new contract to provide uniforms for Success Academy Charter Schools, the largest charter school network in New York City with over 20,000 students, French Toast hired PopUpSummer! to provide executive consulting and project direction & management to launch a large brick & mortar pop-up store and mobile retail activation.
Through its engagement with PopUpSummer!, French Toast, which is primarily an e-commerce focused client, provided student and parent customers the ability to experience and try on new product with trained associates, ensuring proper fit and correct uniform wear. The Back-To-School pop-up store enabled parents to shop with either credit card or cash, eliminating the need for product shipping, all key requirements for the seasonal project; and the benefit of an end-to-end shopping experience.
Project Execution
To best serve Success Academy families across the boroughs, PopUpSummer! led the search for a temporary retail space in Harlem, from initial site scouting to offer negotiation and lease agreement completion. Additionally, PopUpSummer! researched, vetted, and helped select a vendor to provide and fabricate a “fit bus” mobile solution that could serve families in The Bronx, lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
PopUpSummer! remained engaged through the space design, development of the customer experience, inventory planning, product merchandising and launch. This process included working closely with the client team to conceive of the overall look and feel / brand identity of the retail space, the customer journey through the store and fit bus, and the product displays.
PopUpSummer! also directed the staffing search and training process for both front-of-house and back-of-house employees, and helped manage staffing needs throughout the duration of the activation.
The PopUpSummer! team produced a thorough analysis of outcomes of these two activations, with recommendations for future improvements in a Wrap Report for client executive management.
Key Services:
- High-level executive planning and strategic advising
- Research & Development, including commercial real estate landscape, mobile vehicle solutions, design, customer experience mapping, POS solutions, etc.
- Sourcing and subcontracting service providers including store design, merchandising, security, sales staff, and janitorial
Project Outcomes
The French Toast Pop-Up Shop and Fit Bus for Success Academy successfully served thousands of families over a 10-week period, helping French Toast meet (and in many cases, exceed) its contractual obligations to Success Academy and achieve internal brand goals.
Families of Success Academy scholars who shopped the pop-up were able to begin the new school year confident they were outfitted with the correct uniform product pieces in the right sizes.
Client Response
“Everything looks amazing. Everyone should be very proud. I am so appreciative. Thanks for making the French Toast brand come to life.” –Stephen Ashear, President | French Toast
“Love it, thank you for your suggestions and expertise, Susan!” –Beth Grad, Vice President of Digital & eCommerce | French Toast
