CASE STUDY

3ETAIL

RETAIL MADE SIMPLE

A physical retail concept that blended technology, merchandising, and direct-to-consumer selling through an interactive vending experience and a brick-and-mortar presence in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

ROLE: Founder / Operator
INDUSTRY: Retail / Commerce
YEAR: 2020

VIEW THE STORY →

2026 AI CONCEPT / ORIGINAL 2020 ARCHIVE BELOW

THE VISUAL RECORD

The black-and-red kiosk artwork is a modern concept illustration. The original 2020 machine appears in the founder archive.

01 / OVERVIEW

AN IDEA.
A MACHINE.
A REAL BUSINESS.

Around 2020, I sourced a touchscreen vending machine overseas, bought wholesale T-shirts, packaged them into dispensing tubes and put the business on a shopping mall floor. I stocked it. I ran it. It earned actual revenue.

02CHANNELS.
AT THE SAME TIME.

01 / THE MALL

Apparel.
On demand.

A touchscreen machine, packaged merchandise and a physical location.

02 / SHOPS AT BRICKCITY

Space to
make it personal.

A simultaneous small apparel retail space in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

THE HISTORICAL RECORD / 2020

BEFORE THE SOFTWARE.
THERE WAS THE STOREFRONT.

In 2020, I turned a retail idea into a business customers could actually shop. I sourced the machine overseas, purchased wholesale apparel, packaged every T-shirt into a dispensing tube, and stocked and operated it inside a shopping mall.

At the same time, I had a retail space at Shops at BrickCity in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Two ways to reach customers, inventory to manage, and real sales. The vending business earned money. When COVID changed how people felt about touching public screens, I sold the machine and moved forward.

Original multicolored 2020 3etail vending machine — ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH / SOURCE ARCHIVE
2020 · MALL VENDING CHANNEL

02 / CHALLENGE

THE IDEA WAS
JUST THE START.

Equipment. Inventory. Packaging. Placement. Every part had to work before a customer could buy a shirt.

03 / SOLUTION & PROCESS

01Source the machineOverseas equipment sourcing.
02Make it vendWholesale T-shirts, packaged in tubes.
03Put it in reachMall placement and the concurrent BrickCity space.
04Own the operationBranding, stocking and day-to-day retail execution.

My role: Founder and operator. I did not code or manufacture the machine.

04 / OUTCOME & CURRENT STATUS

THE MARKET
MOVED.
SO DID I.

The vending operation generated actual revenue. During COVID, people became reluctant to use shared touchscreens. I ultimately sold the machine.

The lesson stayed: a business lives in the real world. When the conditions change, you have to make the next call.

Talk about the venture

3ETAIL

RETAIL MADE SIMPLE

AN IDEA.A MACHINE.A REAL BUSINESS.

Apparel.On demand.

Space tomake it personal.

BEFORE THE SOFTWARE.THERE WAS THE STOREFRONT.

THE IDEA WASJUST THE START.