Investment Woes See Pop-Up Store Platform Sook Close Business
Pop-up store platform Sook is to close its business after failing to find investment to fund its expansion plans.
In a LinkedIn post, Sook founder and CEO John Hoyle announced the news.
“I’m devastated to announce the closure of Sook. In spite of the extraordinary efforts of our team, growing sales and achieving international scale we were unable to raise sufficient investment to continue in the current environment,” he said on the social media platform.
“I’m so proud of all that we achieved and incredibly sad that we cannot continue. Please support our team members as they search for new roles,” he added. “They have first-hand experience of disrupting the retail and real estate sectors during incredibly challenging times. Thank-you to everyone who supported us over the last five years.”
Hoyle founded the business in 2019 with the aim of creating white-box flexible space for brands and new retailers to take temporary space, and the company opened the first location on South Molton Street in London.
Sook operated five locations in London — Oxford Street, South Molton Street, Shoreditch, Islington Square and Hammersmith — as well as in Bluewater, Trinity Leeds, Metrocentre Newcastle, Liverpool ONE, Bullring Birmingham, St. James Quarter Edinburgh and Westquay Southampton. It also operated a space in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In August, Sook unveiled a partnership with Mall of Africa to lease space in the largest South African shopping centre. The move marked Sook’s first venture into international retail space, with a lease secured for a minimum of five years.
The company also bid unsuccessfully to partner with Westminster Council over its plans, announced last year, to provide pop-up space for new retailers along Oxford Street.
In November last year, Depop teamed up with the retail-space agency to launch a series of pop-ups in what was intended as a project over six months across the UK in locations including Oxford Street, the Birmingham Bullring, Liverpool ONE and St. James Quarter Edinburgh.
Despite the closure of the business, Hoyle said he still believed in Sook's vision to keep the high street vibrant with ever-changing experiences and stores alongside more permanent presences.
Before establishing Sook, Hoyle was managing director of developments at Sunbird Group, which delivered retail assets across eastern and southern Africa. He also held roles as development manager at Grosvenor Group and was a project manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
