Shop and ride!
Trendy clothing store, UNIQLO, opened a pop-up shop in the Union Square subway station Thursday – the first store to take part in a new program the MTA launched to bring businesses into vacant retail spaces.
The MTA is now offering businesses short-term or month-to-month leases in the otherwise vacant spaces while the agency looks for long term tenants.
“Pop-up stores will provide a fresh and beneficial element to our stations while also improving the image and desirability of retail space in the subway,” said MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast
He added that the new program would help make better use of the MTA’s real estate portfolio, and improve the subway environment.
UNIQLO’s shop will be open through the holiday’s and is targeting chilly straphangers with cozy outerwear.
“We want to provide New Yorkers with the opportunity to shop for cold weather clothing in the subway before they have to head out into the winter weather,” said Larry Meyer, the chief operating officer for UNIQLO.
The jackets and parkas will come with a $5 Metrocard that fits in a handy limited-edition sleeve.
The program was tested over the summer with The Newsstand, a hipster oriented shop at the Lorimer Street/Metropolitan Avenue station in Williamsburg that sold indy magazines.
The MTA’s real estate director Jeffrey B. Rosen also said that young people are using the subway system more than ever before—and retailers want to reach them there.
“We are glad to be able to offer space in our stations to facilitate this new business niche,” he said.