The draw of big cities, like New York, London, LA, or Tokyo is that they are made of a series of distinct, colorful neighborhoods, each with their own identity, vibe, and demographic. What makes them different are the small, local, mom-and-pop shops—not the chains of identical mass retail stores.

Walk into Lululemon’s new Chicago flagship and you might wonder if you’ve stumbled into a wellness resort.

The logic is simple enough. Amazon demolished traditional retail’s convenience advantage years ago. Physical stores had to find a new selling point or die trying. Their answer? Theatre. From Samsung’s product-testing playgrounds to Canada Goose... See more