Pop-up holiday market ends early amid vendor disputes
Girl Tribe's pop-up in Birkdale Village ended Dec. 8 — 2 weeks earlier than scheduled
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Popular Charlotte brand Girl Tribe shut down its holiday pop-up market 2 weeks early; vendors required to sign non-disclosure agreements to get refunds
Girl Tribe announced the closure of its holiday pop-up market in Birkdale Village in this Instagram post last Saturday. The retail event, which featured vendors selling clothing, jewelry, gifts and other items, was scheduled to end Dec. 23.
by Lindsey Banks
Girl Tribe, a popular Charlotte boutique and apparel brand, canceled its holiday pop-up shop in Huntersville less than a week into what was supposed to be more than a 3-week run, angering some vendors who said the event didn’t live up to expectations and forcing vendors who want money back to sign nondisclosure agreements before getting refunds.
Girl Tribe operates three brick-and-mortar storefronts in the Charlotte area and one in Atlanta, where it sells youthful women’s clothing and accessories. The company is also known for its pop-up shopping events that invite local small businesses and artists to promote their brands and sell their products to Girl Tribe’s large following, which includes a Girl Tribe Instagram account with more than 143,000 followers.
The Girl Tribe holiday pop-up event was advertised to run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 23 at Birkdale Village in Huntersville, but its last day was Dec. 8 “due to difficulties caused by the impassable differences between Girl Tribe and a select few vendors,” according to a nondisclosure agreement form sent to vendors who were offered a refund after the cancellation.
One vendor, who asked not to be named because they fear Girl Tribe leaders will take legal action against them, said they set up a booth during the pop-up’s first week but left a few days early because they believed the event wasn’t sufficiently advertised, drew fewer customers than they had expected, and the venue didn’t have Wi-Fi.
The vendor said they were expecting to make at least 20 sales each weekday and at least 40 sales on Saturday. Instead, the vendor said they made a total of 34 sales during the days they were there.
“It was really disappointing,” the vendor told The Ledger. “I took a week off work for it. I left [the pop up event] early because I figured I could make more doing my online orders.”
The vendor said they paid $1,500 for a 10-foot-by-10-foot booth at the pop-up.
Girl Tribe sent this statement to The Ledger in response to questions about the early closure and allegations made by the vendor who shared their story:
Girl Tribe has been organizing and operating many different sorts of events and programs, such as the Pop-Ups, for over 7 years, and this Pop-Up Event in Birkdale Village is the first time we have been forced to close an event early. We want to apologize to all customers and vendors for having to make this decision, yet we are confident that it was the correct decision. At the end of the day, our mission of helping empower and support women-owned businesses has not changed, and we will continue to focus our efforts to provide high quality products and a great experience for all our customers and partners.
On Wednesday, two days after The Ledger first contacted Girl Tribe to inquire about the canceled pop-up shop, Girl Tribe emailed vendors who were scheduled to sell at the event during the canceled weeks and offered them refunds. As a requirement to receive the refund, vendors must sign a non-disclosure agreement saying they will not disparage Girl Tribe or discuss the reason for the event cancellation, or make statements “which casts the other party in a false or negative light before the public.” Girl Tribe shared both the email and the non-disclosure agreement with The Ledger.
The vendor who spoke with The Ledger said that a refund has not been offered to vendors who came to the first week of the pop-up. In the nondisclosure agreement, Girl Tribe states that a refund will be offered to vendors for “each day of the event that was cancelled at which vendor had paid to participate.”
Some vendors have taken to social media to voice their displeasure. The Girl Tribe pop-up was the subject of a Reddit post last weekend, in which commenters who said they had close knowledge of the situation said they believed the event was not marketed as heavily on Girl Tribe’s social media platforms compared to the company’s previous pop-ups. Commenters also said that Birkdale Village didn’t have as much foot traffic as they expected based on materials distributed to vendors before the event.
The vendor who spoke with the Ledger said they were told in several different ways that there would be WiFi at the location. The vendor said once they arrived at Birkdale Village to set up for the pop-up, WiFi was not available, which made it difficult for vendors who used online point-of-sale systems to accept payment from customers.
Girl Tribe’s previous pop-ups, some of which have been held at the Charlotte Convention Center just a few light rail stops away from the brand’s target clientele in South End, have drawn large crowds. Attendance at this year’s Birkdale Village holiday pop-up looked like “a slow day at Target,” the vendor said, with people wandering in and out but many not making purchases.
The Ledger asked Girl Tribe co-owner Sarah Baucom about the issues with WiFi, the question of foot traffic and event promotion, and if refunds were offered. Baucom requested that The Ledger send an email to the company with a list of questions.
In response to questions from The Ledger, a spokesperson for Girl Tribe responded only with a link to the vendor agreement, the vendor packet and an email sent to a vendor who is being offered a $2,000 refund for the canceled pop-up event.
The vendor has until 5 p.m. on Friday to respond and request a refund.
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger: lindsey@cltledger.com
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