One example of a so-called experiential retail concept is garnering interest from landlords for the foot traffic it brings to shopping centers and other venues.
Museum of Illusions, a chain of interactive sites where visitors can snap memorable moments to post on social media, is targeting 100 locations in the next four years after a recent investment from private equity firm Invera Equity Partners, museum CEO Jonathan Benjamin said in an interview this week at the ICSC 2022 conference in Las Vegas. That’s up from a current store count of 36 in 22 countries.
In the United States, after opening in six cities including New York, Chicago and more recently Philadelphia, Museum of Illusions has signed leases or has developments in cities including Charlotte, North Carolina; Scottsdale, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. Overseas, the company is eyeing expansion in Asia, Europe and other regions. In Canada, it’s opening a location in Montreal after debuting in Toronto, Benjamin said.
Museum of Illusions features tricks on display that teach visitors about vision and perception and why sometimes the human eye sees things the brain cannot understand, according to its website.
Landlords “really like what we bring to the table,” Benjamin told CoStar News. “Post-pandemic what we are finding is landlords are a lot more eager to speak with us and meet with us. They are going to get hundreds of thousands of visitors going to that space, which helps co-tenants with visitors to adjacent space. There are a number of landlords that try to improve their tenant mix. They are looking for [concepts] that aren’t necessarily traditional. They see what experiential types of concepts do for their centers. It creates traffic. We are a destination.”
For retail landlords, signing a magnet for visitors such as Museum of Illusions is crucial especially when there are adjacent tenants that may have percentage rent deals that tie what they pay for their space to their sales performance, Benjamin said.
Benjamin said Museum of Illusions also “gets a lot of support” from local zoning boards as well as schools. The concept includes an educational component, and the company regularly organizes student field trips during the week.
“They are welcoming us with open arms,” he said. “We get blanketed with a lot of interest. We are looking to bring experiences to these cities.”
In a sign the concept is proving to be relevant with consumers, Benjamin said most of the locations are performing at or above pre-pandemic levels.
“We are more in demand than other types of tenants,” he said. “Landlords are very keen on bringing new ideas and new focus, something that attracts more demographics and repeat customers.”
Museum of Illusions’ appeal isn’t likely to wane in a recession, according to Benjamin, because admission is $15 on the low end in some markets. It’s triple that amount in bigger cities, however, where competition for entertainment dollars can be fierce. Museum of Ice Cream, a similar concept filled with colorful rooms ready for Instagram photos, has locations in New York, Chicago and Austin, for example.
“I’ve experienced a recession in the past,” Benjamin said. There are “a number of things I found to be true. People cut back on luxury items. They may cut back on travel. Maybe this is the year they aren’t going to Cancun or Disney World. But people still want to do things and go to movies or museums. This is recession proof.”