Berlin has world's first 'guerrilla' shop

BERLIN, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A Japanese company has launched a line of "guerrilla" boutiques with a store in Berlin that has almost no overhead and will close in 12 months.

Known as "Guerrilla Store," it opened last week after just $2,500 spent renovating a 700-square foot former book store, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Little was actually changed -- even the old signage was left -- before Adrian Joffe and his wife and partner, avant-garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, loaded it with cutting edge styles. Advertising consisted of 600 posters placed around the city, and word of mouth.

"Of course it seems outrageous to close something once it becomes a success, and I think we will be successful," said Joffe, who with his wife owns the store's Tokyo parent firm, Comme des Garcons.

"But to be creative at anything takes an unbelievable amount of energy, and the minute you start to feel content with your success is when you lose it. You don't want to get too comfortable."

There is little chance of that, because all 20 stores that the company plans to open by next year, including one in Brooklyn in September, will adopt the same guerrilla strategy, disappearing after a year.