Stepping into local fashion label Klarra’s pop-up store feels almost like stepping into a friend’s home.

The 1,489 sq ft store at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) could be an apartment – with a room on the side hidden away by gauze curtains, and a cushy couch and shelf display in the front.

Called The Gallery, the room provides a concealed spot for customers to try Klarra’s new shoe collection comfortably.

In another corner, a wooden dining table framed by a custom-made plant oasis displays new items from the brand.

The idea was indeed to make it feel like home, says founder Beatrice Tan, 32.

“The brand’s direction has always been about creating reliable, wearable pieces that give customers mileage – something that is comfortable and here to stay.

“We wanted to translate that into the store concept as well,” she says.

She was inspired on a trip to New York City in January last year, where she shopped at concept stores with designs that experimented beyond the “conventional racks and clothes”.

Back home, she similarly explored unique shapes and forms in her choice of mirrors and furniture, custom-making many of the pieces.

The decor for the MBS pop-up, which will operate till June 30, was completed in three weeks. She saved costs by retaining the main structures of the store – which previously housed another fashion brand – such as the fitting rooms and storeroom.

The knick-knacks displayed on the shelves were sourced on past travels and from her own home, says Tan, who is also a fashion influencer (@beatricesays).

Curated to suit “the Klarra girl’s lifestyle”, they include a globe for “the woman who enjoys travelling” as well as books on travel, fashion and coffee.

Though it is early days, Ms Tan has noticed that customers are more inclined to spend both time and money here. They snap pictures and linger in the store when they are comfortable.

“Their partners or family members staying around in the store helps them shop at ease, so there is no rush,” says Tan.

“Usually with smaller stores, the boyfriends are forced to stand outside. But here, I see them looking around and feeling comfortable on the couch – so I suppose that does translate to sales.”

#01-68 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

To get to local fragrance brand Six’s new store in 313@Somerset, just follow the alluring scent from the basement entrance of Somerset MRT station to the store.

The olfactory strategy has already worked to attract new customers, says founder Jason Lee, 36. They come for the scent and stay for the store experience, he adds.

The 550 sq ft boutique, which opened last month, boasts an earthy palette and soft edges that mimic the contours of a cave – or one’s “personal sanctuary”. Soothing ambient music and, of course, calming scents complete the cosy experience.

He calls it a retail-home hybrid. Perfumes and mini nebulisers are displayed unobtrusively on shelves and coffee tables. In the back, different scents are piped out through artworks that cleverly disguise the bulky nebulisers beneath.

“I want people to feel comfortable here. We don’t want to hard-sell them our products, but allow them to experience the concept and see how the fragrances can be applied at home,” says Lee. The bestseller is the store scent, a blend named 27°F Biei – the same scent people smell from the MRT.

Lee had been looking for a second store space – Six has a boutique in Bugis Junction too – since July, after seeing “good growth in online sales” during the pandemic.

The new store was a chance to introduce Six’s new brand purpose – to use fragrances as a tool to soothe, heal, and delight. He drew design cues from a visit to a co-working space for mental health caregivers, where the muted hues and lighting, and the absence of sharp edges, create a conducive environment for people to talk to the counsellors.

Spending almost $150,000 on renovation, he hired local creative agency In The Wild to design the space, after meeting one of its artists, Clara Yee, at an arts festival. “She had created an exhibition space that was so comfortable for people to walk through; so well-crafted with many angles for Instagram-worthy shots,” he says.

Portraying a “nice home environment” was also key as Six intends to focus more on its home scents going forward.

#B2-30 313@Somerset

Frazzled store assistants prompted the novel design of Sunday Staples’ newest outlet.

The local fast-fashion footwear brand observed how, at its first two stores in Far East Plaza and Suntec City, retail assistants were swamped serving multiple customers who wanted to try numerous pairs of shoes.

“Customers would point at four different pairs and want to try them in their sizes, and our staff would have to go to the storeroom and remember which shoes to take,” says co-founder Maurice Bay, 33. “Sometimes, customers try up to 10 pairs.”

Other times, they would wave the shoes on display at store assistants and the display shoes would end up misplaced.

For the new store opening on Jan 16 at 313@Somerset, Bay and his wife, who is a co-founder, did away with the scattered seating of conventional shoe stores and built designated booths for customers to try shoes comfortably.

The footwear is displayed on shelves with corresponding wooden tags. Shoppers collect tags for the styles they want to try, pass them to store staff and head to the booths, which were partly inspired by those in American diners.

For a seamless experience, tables on the side are equipped with barcode scanners for contactless payment, adds Bay.

The couple spent more than $200,000 on renovations “after extensive haggling”.

“Structurally, curves are really expensive to make,” he says. But the curvy look is on-trend with other retail stores and cafes, he points out, and parallels the shift in customers’ buying patterns.

After the circuit breaker, he noticed customers buying more slides than heels as they edged towards comfort and working from home.

“Similarly, I think the retail store look and feel have started to soften – moving away from the clean, professional look of sharp edges and white lights, towards soft curves and warm lighting. It’s that home-away-from-home vibe.”

Asked how the decor may pay off, he says: “The booths and instant checkout allow for quicker conversion. It reduces buyer remorse when they are queueing to pay and lowers the chance of losing a sale.”

But more importantly, details such as coordinating the colour scheme of the store to the palette of their shoes play a bigger part in building brand identity, he says.

“The entire store is in line with this theme that our customers can relate to. It’s omnichannel and homogenous – you get the same experience online and offline.”

#02-40 313@Somerset

A month after luxury skincare label Dr Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics launched an e-commerce store in Singapore, the brand has set up a new pop-up store for customers to try the full range of products.

The eponymous label was founded in 2014 by German aesthetics doctor Barbara Sturm who, before entering skincare, was an orthopaedic doctor who specialised in combating inflammation.

Distributed and managed by local fashion retailer FJ Benjamin Holdings, the pop-up opened last month at Ngee Ann City and will be there for at least six months.

The store itself resembles a futuristic laboratory, with products displayed on curved shelves alongside matching couches.

There was little renovation work needed, says FJ Benjamin chief executive Douglas Benjamin.

“We kept the clean, minimalist and neutral look from the former tenant as it worked well with the premium and minimalist aesthetics of the Dr Barbara Sturm brand and also synergised well with the science-based aspect of her skincare range.”

Launching the brand with a pop-up gives the company time to look for a permanent location where it can incorporate a spa treatment room as customers have requested, he adds.

“We are also exploring other pop-up store concepts as we have been approached by many brands interested in entering the Singapore market.”

#02-12E Takashimaya S.C.

This article first appeared in The Straits Times