New Stand was born during David Carson’s morning commute on the New York City subway. He was working for a digital media company and wanted a change; simultaneously, he noticed the shops beside the train were subpar.
“There was a small footprint at Union Square station and I thought, ‘What if we took this and made a c-store for people riding the L train?’ ”
New Stand, a “discovery platform for new products, new media and new experiences,” has expanded to 25 locations in New York offı ce towers, airports and ferry boats, and in c-store, cart and kiosk formats. What started as a regular convenience store selling cigarettes, food and beverages turned into a place to purchase items “that made no sense” being in a c-store, such as electronic gadgets and clothes, Carson says. They are available for purchase through its mobile app. This, he says, gave consumers a sense of wonder to discover something new: a retail-media platform.
“This became our mission,” he says. “How can we excite people and turn on their minds as they commute?”
New Stand also does not sell many hard-copy magazines or newspapers at its physical locations. Rather, it stocks its app with a curated list of articles, music and new-product announcements.
Carson is constantly looking for more areas in which to build New Stand “communities,” and he has plans for 13 more over the next year.
“We want to establish ourselves where people are working, living and traveling to create a way of improving their days,” he says.
Is it a c-store or a "retail media platform"? This concept offers digital media, clothes and more in a convenient package.
Photo courtesy of New Stand