The Next Century of Retail: Episode 3

Next Century of Retail: Episode 3

The Playground — Where Media Meets the Street

By Edwin Duterte & Jennifer Wolfe
Founders, The Donn Allan Experience

Previously on The Evolution: In Episode 1, we bought a legendary building. In Episode 2, we bared our souls and promised to build a sanctuary for the lonely business owner. Today, in Episode 3, we open the doors and turn up the volume.

Admit It: Your Garage is Getting Lonely

Let’s be honest about the life of the modern entrepreneur.

It’s not all exit strategies and keynote speeches. Usually, it’s you, alone in a spare bedroom at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday, wearing sweatpants, trying to convince your cat that your Q3 projections are solid. You’re tired of Zoom calls where everyone is secretly checking their email. You’re tired of pitching your big idea to the barista who just wants you to pay for your oat milk latte.

We humans are social creatures. We weren't meant to build empires in isolation. We need friction. We need collision. We need to look someone in the eye and shake their hand.

If Voxel Micro Video Labs (our downstairs sibling) is the "Engine," then the ground floor of the historic JC Penney building is the "Playground." Welcome to the San Pedro Local Market.

The Anti-Mall: A Curated Collision of Commerce

We aren't building a stuffy antique hall or a sterile food court. We are building a kinetic space for face-to-face commerce.

The San Pedro Local Market, spanning the ground floor and mezzanine, is a curated pop-up landscape designed for artisans, makers, and small-batch brands who are ready to get out of their garage. It’s for the entrepreneur who realizes that before you can go "global digital," you need to master "hyper-local physical."

This is where you test your elevator pitch on real humans. This is where you find your collaborators. This is where the energy of the street meets the strategy of the business.

The Monolith: 1922 Meets Blade Runner

Now, here is where we add the Donn Allan twist. We love historic brick, but we also love futuristic tech.

If you walk into the market to buy handmade soap or vintage denim, you won't just hear ambient noise. You will be met with a dramatic 16-foot-tall by 30-foot-wide immersive digital wall commanding the space.

[Image of a large digital screen inside a historic building lobby showing colorful graphics]

Why put a Jumbotron in a historic landmark? Because it bridges the gap.

Imagine a bustling Saturday market. You are browsing a vendor’s stall. Suddenly, that vendor appears on the massive 30-foot screen above you, being interviewed in a high-quality clip from one of our downstairs video podcasts.

You see the product in person, then you see the story on the screen. That is experiential retail. That is how you turn a passerby into a superfan.

Fueling the Content Engine

The Market isn't just a place to sell things; it's a content farm. Every interaction on the ground floor is fuel for the studios downstairs.

The Playground is where life happens. The Engine room is where we broadcast that life to the world.

COMING NEXT: The Engine Room

We’ve explored the bustling ground floor where connections are made. But what lies beneath?