Foster Labs enables retailers to reinvent themselves

The city of Antwerp, a shopping destination, is becoming a retail trial centre: Foster Labs is creating living labs where retailers and manufacturers can test their innovations. The first four “stores of the future” have recently opened, and next year, there should be as many as thirty.

Putting ideas into actions

Cities need new shopping concepts and meeting places to revitalise their depleted shopping streets. Retailers need to transition to more innovative, more digital, more sustainable and more inclusive ways of working. Foster Labs addresses this challenge by creating living labs or ‘try-stores’ in the shopping area of the city of Antwerp. It is an initiative by Retailhub, a sister company of RetailDetail and the largest retail knowledge and inspiration centre in the Benelux, supported by the City of Antwerp.

“Reinventing yourself is not only done by thinking, but also by acting. Not in a lab, but a ‘real-life’ environment”, says Jorg Snoeck, CEO of Retailhub. “With Foster Labs, we are creating testing spaces in the city of Antwerp where anyone who wants to can try out new ideas and concepts in an actual shopping environment. In addition to ‘live feedback’, such a test location provides something else: you learn faster, and you can work in collaboration with partners. There is a tremendous need for this rapid learning curve and partnerships.”

Learning and adjusting

The project only occupies vacant properties and thus tackles the vacancy problem in the city. The first trial stores have just opened inside the Shopping Stadsfeestzaal on the main shopping street, Meir.

Foster Store allows more than twenty young brands or startups to present their products to the public. Everything in the store revolves around discovery and real-time feedback. This way, the young companies can learn faster – and adjust when necessary.

Some of the brands you can find there: Bodhi’s Ice, Karat, Wawaah Water, Staf, Anniek De Vlieger, Shadow Collectors, Nordays, Amber Jewelry, FITFORM stand up chair, Bright Style and Seppe’s Granola. Here you can already get to know the newcomers.

Unique shopping experience

Pop-up gallery Luckie Art displays and sells art by new and upcoming talent and will soon move to a new empty building in Antwerp. This way, Luckie Art will make way for a new concept by Foster Labs.

In the AR Store, shoppers can discover how augmented reality will soon become part of the shopping experience. It looks like an empty store until you pick up the tablet: then, the building transforms into a unique and complete shopping experience.

Luckie Greens & Beans is a business for and by people with a disability. Luckie sells coffee and sustainable plants from the short chain. The concept aims to create qualitative employment and actively contribute to a caring neighbourhood and will soon open in its own location in Antwerp South. In the Foster pop-up, the Antwerp citizens can already become acquainted with the initiative.

Foster Labs has also teamed up with Dille & Kamille, Foodmaker, Oats Day Long, Hans Anders, HP, Salesforce and many others. You will hear more on that soon.

Do you have a try-store idea? Tell us about it, and we will help you get started under the Foster umbrella.