News.
John Lewis Hosts the First Pop-up Store for Rising Black-owned Brand, SOUL CAP
7th October 2020
Leeds-based haircare and swim brand SOUL CAP today announced the opening of their first series of pop-up stores at John Lewis shops across the North of England.
Through a partnership with The John Lewis Pop-Up Initiative, SOUL CAP will be demonstrating and selling their specially designed microfiber hair towel and unique range of larger swim caps from dedicated retail spaces in John Lewis stores in York, Sheffield, and Leeds throughout October’s Black History Month.
The John Lewis Pop-Up Initiative is an ongoing collaboration between high street retailers John Lewis and The Great British Exchange, a national supplier that aims to create stronger links between British producers and retailers.
Providing a range of spaces allocated for upcoming brands in John Lewis stores all over the country, The Great British Exchange helps to connect smaller businesses with both their local communities and a wider consumer market. With week-long pop-up stores in high-footfall retail spaces like John Lewis, British producers like SOUL CAP can design and curate their own branded experience for shoppers – introducing their products and values to an audience that might otherwise not have found them.
As part of their ongoing awareness campaigns around the topic of Black History Month this October, John Lewis and The Great British Exchange are using their Pop-Up Initiative as an opportunity to cast a spotlight on some of the most promising and successful black-owned British businesses – including SOUL CAP.
“It’s been a great experience so far,” said Michael Chapman, co-director of SOUL CAP. “Until now, we’ve always been a primarily online business, and we haven’t had many chances to meet our customers face-to-face”
After the success of their first pop-up store, Chapman and his co-director at SOUL CAP, Tokunbo Ahmed-Salawudeen, hope to continue with pop-up locations in the future.
“We’ve always had brand values that go beyond our products,” said Ahmed-Salawudeen. “We’re advocates for inclusivity and having a presence in a well-known store as a Black-owned business is a great chance for us to pave the way for brands that are usually underrepresented in mainstream retailers”
SOUL CAP’s pop-up stores will be open for business at John Lewis Sheffield between 19 October and 25 October, and at John Lewis Leeds from 26 October to 1 November.
About SOUL CAP
SOUL CAP has been selling its unique Microfiber Hair Towel and unique brand of larger swimming caps to swimmers with long and voluminous hair for over three years. They’ve shipped over 30,000 products to more than a hundred different countries, and have featured in Refinery29 and The Independent.
To find out more about SOUL CAP, visit www.soulcap.com or follow us on Instagram @soulcapofficial.