Live Rocket Readies for Seaport District Launch
Regardless of however long the pandemic seizes up the fashion industry and other businesses, Live Rocket is offering multichannel options for companies of varying sizes.
Striving to reach a global audience, the New York-based company is set up to allow brands to present goods via Live Rocket television, livestreaming, mobile-digital and the first Live Rocket studio in the South Street Seaport District in lower Manhattan. Located on the corner of Water and Fulton Streets, that 18,000-square-foot space will have a broadcast space and podcast studio, among other features.
Due to launch in the first quarter of 2021, Live Rocket TV will be introduced in 25 million homes in the U.S., according to Mark Bozek. Home shopping sales are marked per second versus per square foot or per clicks, he said.
In addition to global livestreaming, there will be an app, a web site and a retail production physical space. “I’ve never believed that ‘omni’ only means a store and an app. Omni means ‘all.’ I’m still a huge believer in television and I was before the pandemic. Certainly now (I am more than ever because of the pandemic) and how much television everyone is watching — no matter how big the screen is,” he said.
The digital aspect will make its debut later this fall. On Monday, Live Rocket will host a private launch event on the rooftop of Pier 17. Noting how every month “a new QVC for the digital age“ is launched, Bozek claimed they reach a peak point where they have to spend so much money to buy customers online and retain them “that it’s often very hard for them to grow.” Live Rocket goes on the premise that not everything needs to be reinvented — namely the notions of live, television and exclusive products that can’t be found elsewhere or price-shopped. “It’s not your mother’s home shopping network,” he said.
The content will spotlight brands and personalities — some known and others not. The first will be revealed in October or November. While many have been questioning how New York will reopen, “the playing field has been so leveled as to who’s the smartest and the most talented,” he said. Given that, Live Rocket can use the Seaport District that is wired for sound and television in 17 locations.
Working with the Howard Hughes Corp., Live Rocket is trying to draw attention to the area and its various businesses. The historic Tin Building, for example, is being redesigned into a four-story food hall curated by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Sarah Jessica Parker routinely turns up at her signature footwear store nearby and shoppers line up around the block. Bozek marveled about the potential of beaming that into millions of homes at the same time.
With access to the amazing content in the neighborhood, Live Rocket’s digital-first approach should help safeguard sales in the event of another shutdown due to COVID-19, Bozek said. The plan is to be live from China, South Korea and Japan in the next 24 months, he added.
”I hope that Live Rocket will be one of the catalysts that helps the industry, new talent and existing talent have a global distribution platform that is not out there right now unless you’re owned by LVMH or Kering,” he said.
To that end, Live Rocket will host a private film screening Monday night on Pier 17’s rooftop. Aside from being produced by Live Rocket and directed by Bozek, “The Times of Bill Cunningham” is rooted in a sense of discovery, like Live Rocket’s ethos. Among the expected guests are Bethann Hardison and some of the up-and-coming designers of color she is helping to mentor via the Designers Hub. “When I can discover that kind of talent, give them a platform and teach them about how business works at the same time, that’s crazy great,” Bozek said.
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