The 12 Hour Store: iZettle gave entrepreneurs their Cinderella story
Thanks to a flick of her fairy godmother’s wand, Cinderella had until the stroke of midnight to enjoy the ball in her beautiful dress. Here's how a similarly magical concept was extended to small businesses.
Rather than a romantic fairytale to find true love, here's one for small businesses who've been looking for their 'prince charming' i.e. group of customers and much-needed exposure.
Well aware of how it's hard today for small businesses to succeed, iZettle, a Swedish company that builds game-changing payment services and apps, decided to wave their metaphorical magic wand in the direction of these enterprises to enable them to compete with the big brands.
To do so, six selected small companies were given the opportunity to occupy a flagship spot at a prime location in the heart of London and be exposed to a ton of foot traffic for 12 hours. For six days, the store opened at 9am and closed after the stroke of 9pm. Thus, every night, the store and its decorations were transformed to reflect one of the other six small companies. For a humouristic touch, signs displayed in the street informed the passers-by of the “Grand opening today, grand closing tonight.”
The only caveat was that all transactions had to be conducted using the mPAS technology from the Swedish vendor.
Not only was it an appealing distraction for shoppers and passers-by - who were amused but yet discovered new up and coming British brands - but it was especially an incredible opportunity for the companies. “For a small business, The 12 Hour Store really was a dream come true. It felt like a great reward for all our employees’ efforts and support,” confides Bhavik Masters of British Christmas Jumpers, one of the six business owners.
And everyone lived happily ever after.
Lindsay POUI-DI
Watch the video:
