Aims of the Pop-Up Shop competition
The UOB Pop-Up Shop competition is returning to the university after 11 years. Its goal is to give all students the chance to run a shop in the city centre for a day. It doesn’t matter what course you’re studying, or what stage of study you’re at, the competition is open to everyone and is a fun way to get new experience and make new friends.
Teams of students will compete for the chance to run a pop-up shop in the city centre for a day. Five teams will be chosen by an expert panel and will be supported by a mentor to create a business plan and marketing campaign for their day in the shop.
You can either form your own team, or we’ll place you into a team, to make sure that you’re working with people with complimentary skills – so whether you’re a marketing expert, a business guru, a finance ninja or you just want to give it a shot and see what it’s like, you can have a go!
How the competition works
First, you’ll let us know that you’re interested in entering the competition. You don’t need to be in a team, or have finalised your team yet, to do this. After that, we’ll meet with everyone to find out a bit more about their ideas and place them into a team if needed. You'll then have some time to flesh out your proposal and put together a more detailed plan.
When your plan has been submitted, the whole team will meet with an expert panel to talk them through it. The panel will pick the five best plans and allocate a mentor to each successful team. These teams will each get to run the pop-up shop for a day and will be given a £500 loan to buy stock, create a marketing campaign and plan a strategy in advance of the allocated trading day.
Mentors will support teams while they plan their day in the shop and afterwards will help them reflect on how it went and what they learned.
The competition will take place in stages:
- Expressions of interest submitted.
- Meetings with the Enterprise Bath team.
- Full applications submitted.
- Applications discussed with our expert panel.
- Successful teams chosen by the panel.
- Teams work with a mentor to get ready to open their pop-up shop.
- Each team runs the pop-up shop for a day.
- Teams reflect on their learning, and we crunch the numbers to see who earned the most profit.
The winning team is the one who makes the most profit, and their reward is to keep the profits for themselves.
Why you should take part
This competition is open to all students, from any course. We strongly encourage students who are not focused on business or marketing in their core studies to get involved; the competition is designed to be a learning experience and give you fantastic skills that you can add to your CV and LinkedIn profile when the competition has ended.
It's a unique chance to gain real-world business experience in a supportive, encouraging environment so don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like it before. We want people who are enthusiastic, determined and motivated no matter their background or previous experience.
When all trading has finished, everyone who took part will have access to workshops with the Careers department to help you analyse your decisions and assess the effectiveness of your strategy. You’ll also learn how to craft your experience for maximum effect on your CV, job applications and your LinkedIn profile.
Throughout the competition, you’ll build key transversal skills such as collaboration, communication, and prioritisation as well as crucial technical skills in areas such as marketing, project management and business planning.
Competition timeline
- To be involved in the competition, you must submit your Expression of Interest form no later than midday on Thursday 10 April 2025
- You’ll then need to make time to meet with the Enterprise Bath team during week commencing 14 and 21 April 2025 (you can do this in-person or online, whichever is easier for you)
- You will pitch your proposal to the panel on Thursday 24 April 2025
- The five successful teams will be randomly allocated to the trading days, which will be Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 June
- Workshops and audits will take place in the week after the last trading day, so you will need to be available at different times throughout week commencing 9 June
- You will be expected to attend the glittering Grand Finale on the evening of 13 June when the profits (and maybe losses) of each team will be confirmed, and the winning team will be announced. We'll also announce the winners of additional awards for the Best Marketing Campaign and the Most Sustainable Initiative.
Before you apply, please make sure you are available on all the dates listed above. You will not be able to take part if you can’t commit to each of the dates provided, as they are all integral to the competition.
What do I do next?
To get started, let us know you’re interested in the competition by completing this Expression of Interest form. You can complete it as an individual, or on behalf of a team if you have already formed one.
Got a question? You might find the answer you need below
Can I talk to someone about my idea before doing anything?
Yes, absolutely. We are very happy for you to contact us at any time for an informal chat to find out more or run through an idea with us. Email the Enterprise team.
Do I need to be doing a business, marketing, or finance course to take part?
No! The competition is open to everyone, regardless of what they’re studying. You need to be enthusiastic, energetic and willing to take part.
Do I need to form a team before I submit my form?
No! You can apply as an individual, or on behalf of a team, even if you haven’t yet finalised all the members of your team yet.
Do I need to have a detailed plan in place before I express my interest?
No! If you have the outline of an idea, that’s fine. It's also no problem if you want to offer your skills and energy to another team and don’t have a plan at all at this stage.
How many people can be in a team?
Teams must be formed of five to seven people. We cannot take forward teams who have fewer than five members, or more than seven members.
What’s the prize?
The winning team is the one who makes the most profit. Their prize is to keep the profit they made. We will also award prizes for the Best Marketing Campaign and the Most Sustainable Initiative.
What can I sell in the shop?
That’s up to you. You could sell almost anything from art to zebra-striped kitchen ware! What do you think will sell best in this shop? Do you already have a business selling products? We have some ideas for you using products made by our students and graduates. Come and talk us through your ideas and we can guide you as to which is likely to work best.
Remember that we’re giving you a loan, so anything you buy belongs to the University unless you sell it in the shop on the trading day.
How much time will we have in the shop?
Each team will receive the keys to the shop at midnight on their allocated trading day. They will have until the shop opens to get everything set up and will keep the keys until 23:59 the following day.
How will you decide which five plans are the best?
The panel will decide based on the application form and the team pitches. The panel will consider the team as a whole, and how well they are working on their application, as well as their idea for the shop. This is about learning from the process as well as trying to run a business and make a profit.