{"id":341867,"date":"2017-05-25T04:43:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T20:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1495388"},"modified":"2017-05-25T04:43:25","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T20:43:25","slug":"flexible-retail-startup-bulletin-raises-2-2m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/flexible-retail-startup-bulletin-raises-2-2m\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexible retail startup Bulletin raises $2.2M"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Bulletin<\/a>, the startup that describes itself as \u201cWeWork for retail space,\u201d is announcing that it has raised $2.2 million in seed funding.<\/p>\n

The idea is to give businesses \u2014 particularly online brands \u2014 access to brick-and-mortar retail space without the cost or commitment of a traditional lease. Those businesses can rent sections of a Bulletin store\u00a0on a month-to-month basis. Within that space, they get to decide which products get sold, the pricing and how they\u2019re displayed.<\/p>\n

The startup currently operates two locations, one each in New York\u2019s SoHo and Williamsburg neighborhoods. The Williamsburg location was initially focused on home products, but it now houses Bulletin Broads<\/a>, which co-founder and CEO Alana Branston said is selling \u201c30 of our favorite female-run brands making products for and about women\u201d \u2014 things like feminist T-shirts and pins and books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Broads is run according to the same Bulletin model, where the brands rent space on a monthly basis and can also hold their own events, but co-founder and COO Ali Kriegsman said it allowed the startup to experiment with more of a \u201ctrending\u201d approach, where the product lineup reflects the latest shifts in news and politics.<\/p>\n

She said the result has been the Bulletin\u2019s\u00a0most successful store yet \u2014 and 10 percent of sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood of New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re able to create stores with timely, reactive content because of our flexible sharing model,\u201d Branston added.<\/p>\n

\"Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n

The seed round comes from Flybridge, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Afore Capital, Tim Draper, Kevin Hale, Y Combinator (where Bulletin recently graduated as part of the winter class<\/a>) and Liquid 2 Ventures. The money will fund Bulletin\u2019s plans to open five new stores in the next nine months \u2014 three in New York, followed by two in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Branston said Bulletin also plans to improve its technology, making it easier for brands to rent space and to track how their in-store sales are doing.<\/p>\n

Looking further ahead, Branston said Bulletin represents a way for the retail industry to respond to the fact that \u201cconsumers have fundamentally changed the way that they\u2019ve shopped.\u201d In order to avoid predictions of a retail apocalypse<\/a>, Branston said stores have to focus on experiences rather than products \u2014 it\u2019s something she argued Apple is also doing by expanding the programming in Apple Stores<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In her view, that\u00a0focus on experiences is \u201cbaked into\u201d the Bulletin approach, which is all about an ever-changing, curated group of brands, and where those brands are throwing plenty of parties and other events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want customers to look at us as the store where they go for experiences,\u201d Branston said.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Bulletin<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Bulletin Bulletin, the startup that describes itself as “WeWork for retail space,” is announcing that it has raised $2.2 million in seed funding. The idea is to give businesses — particularly online brands — access to brick-and-mortar retail space without the cost or commitment of a traditional lease. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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