I have the pleasure of teaching entrepreneurship at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. Being a New York City based business school cloaked as a design/art institute provides fertile ground for discipline mash-ups. The attached article from FT.com details the rise of retail mash-up, Antwerp’s concept stores which display and sell everything from clothing to cars under one roof.
From a financial point of view would this work. Absolutely, it is an opportunity for retailers – or manufactures – which promote niche item to band together to secure retail space they couldn’t of afforded individually by spreading the fixed cost across a large product base. Hey, if it works for large box stores why not a strategic alliance of common lifestyle retailers.