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10 Pop-up businesses Read the text about pop-up businesses, then choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for questions 1–7. Put a cross ( ) in the correct box. The first one (0) has been done for you. Multiple choice 01 Pop-up businesses Pop-up outlets have been around for a long time, in one form or another. e movement originally started with artists looking for temporary space to exhibit work, hold stage shows and create studio spaces. Now there are pop-up shops, restaurants, nightclubs, roo op bars, cinemas. For those who wish to establish their own pop- ups, there are agencies that will rent out spaces anywhere for a day or a few weeks. e phenom- enon is so well established that some pop-up companies have settled down and become main- stream enterprises. e short-term nature of pop-ups encourages creativity. Immersive theatre is part of this trend. Small acting companies take over vast multi- room spaces to create mystery dramas that the audience can get involved in, either as partici- pants or spectators. en there is the ‘immersive dining’ phenomenon that recreates an environ- ment such as 1890s Paris or the Wizard of Oz for one evening and turns eating into a theatrical event. However, economics and technology o†er a more fundamental reason for the pop-up move- ment. Internet shopping means the value of retail space has fallen. People in the retail business reckon there is about a third more shopping space than the industry needs. at explains why there is such a generous supply of temporary space on the market. e companies that build shopping centres and own high streets want retailers to sign long leases. However, the internet has speeded up the pace at which fads come and go, and tastes change so fast that retailers prefer not to make that sort of commitment. ey need to test things and bring them to market more quickly than they used to. For them, the pop-up is not just a new sort of out- let but also a means of doing market research. Digital communications have facilitated the pop-up phenomenon. In the days when market- ing was by word of mouth or an expensive, long campaign, an established presence in a high street location was essential. But these days, entrepre- neurs use social media to let their customers know which fashionable new back-street bar or warehouse they should hurry along to this evening. Pop-ups are not just an interesting phenome- non in themselves: they are part of a wider trend towards the temporary and away from the permanent. ere are pop-up hotels, oŒces and a host of pop-up driving, cleaning and even legal services. is means of course the creation of lots of pop-up jobs. e great virtue of the pop-up economy is that it lowers the entry barriers to getting into business. When you don’t need the money to take out a long lease on a big shop or restaurant or to build a factory or run an expensive marketing campaign, then the only requirements for setting up a shop are energy and a good idea. at is how, since 2000, 1.4 million micro-companies have been created in Britain. For consumers, pop-ups are undiluted good news. It means that small companies are compet- ing strongly with big ones, which have to try harder as a result. For workers it is more ambiguous. It means we cannot rely on compa- nies to look a er us into our old age, and that we will have to look a er ourselves. It means we have to put more e†ort into networking and keeping our skills polished. It means we have less security but more opportunity. And that has surely got to be a good thing. Reading Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv