As I turned the mall corner, passing a Tesla showroom and the afternoon rush on a Starbucks kiosk, I could see it — Beretta’s new pop-up store. Located in the Cherry Creek Mall a short drive from downtown Denver, Colo., it is one of three such locations across the country. But, unlike Beretta Galleries, which ooze luxury firearms, outdoor apparel and home furnishings from their Italian stone facades, these stores are the company’s first attempt at reaching the everyday hunter and shooter with a traditional retail experience.

Announced just days earlier, I arranged to meet with Beretta USA’s Patrick Mocorro at the new store before he left town. A man with a long job title, Patrick has an even longer resume in retail sales and operation — specifically in apparel — making him the perfect point person to plan and set up each pop-up location, which also includes Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Ga., and the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn. Each location was chosen based on a “heat map,” as Patrick described it, showing a growing interest and sales data in Beretta products in the Southeast, Dakotas and Midwest.

Driving out to each store from Maryland due to company-wide pandemic-related travel restrictions, the Denver location was the last to launch. Now filled with Beretta’s latest technical performance gear, you would have never known the space was empty just 48 hours earlier. With help from local Beretta reps, hunting guides and store manager, Emily, the team transformed the location, hanging clothing and dressing mannequins in blaze orange, new Veil Avayde camo and various hues of black, green and brown.

“The Beretta USA retail pop-up concept is an exciting way for the Beretta customer to actually come feel the Beretta line of clothing and accessories.”

 
Designed with the Colorado market in mind, customers are first greeted by Beretta upland hunting apparel before being guided through redesigned women’s apparel (only featured in the Denver pop-up), new Xtreme Waterfowl collection and Defense Training Gear. With apparel to outfit any hunter or shooter from head to toe in Beretta hats, neck gaiters, shirts, jackets, vests, gloves, pants and boots, there’s something for every outdoorsman and woman. Shooting glasses, range bags, magazine pouches and cleaning kits are also on display, though mostly in the back of the store in a concerted effort to appease the mall. But unwilling to shy away from Beretta’s near 500-year history manufacturing firearms, Patrick fought for action photography featuring guns, eventually getting approval for select images.

Open for just 90 days, the pop-up stores will have a limited time to validate proof of concept, but Beretta hopes the opportunity to see, touch and try on its products will attract hunters and shooters, as well as some of the millions of new gun owners to come out of 2020. My girlfriend, who tagged along with me, made a good point, noting the store might also receive business from Coloradans seeking warm and waterproof winter gear, especially from consumers unfamiliar with the brand.

Leaving the store that day, I was impressed by the effort put into the space and the quality of products Beretta has to offer. Previously more familiar with Beretta firearms, their apparel and gear use some of the best performance materials on the market with innovative and proven designs backed by input from actual end users. And though it isn’t inexpensive — I picked up one of their new Highball Windpro Sweaters regularly priced at $279 — the quality and technology provided comes at a great value.

Both consumer value and the value of a more traditional retail experience are metrics Beretta — and other manufacturers and brands — will monitor closely throughout the holiday season. If you live in the area of one of the three locations, I encourage you to pop in on the pop-up stores. As part of an ‘Appreciation Day’ promotional campaign, Beretta is offering discounts of 10-30% off purchases of $100 or more to military/law enforcement (Mondays), conservation groups (Tuesdays) and hunters (Wednesdays) at each store with valid identification. More information about the promotions can be received from the in-store staff at each location, listed below.

Beretta Pop-up Retail Locations

Cherry Creek Mall
3000 E 1st Ave
Denver, CO 80206
shopcherrycreek.com
Located on Level 1

Lenox Square Mall
3393 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
simon.com/mall/lenox-square
Located on Mall Level

Mall of America
60 E Broadway
Bloomington, MN 55425
mallofamerica.com
Located on Level 1

Look for a pop-up follow-up story in early 2021.

For more info: beretta.com