design:retail - February 2018 - 12

globalshop talk

012

Window
Shopping

DOUG HOPE
FOUNDER AND SHOW DIRECTOR, GLOBALSHOP

doug.hope@emeraldexpo.com
@globalshopshow

M

ILLENNIALS LIKE TO walk.
They like to walk around
where they live, where they
work, where they eat and,
yes, where they shop. It
turns out that Baby Boomers do, too.
The desire to enjoy a walkable lifestyle
has given rise to hyper-development of
downtown living space and, along with it, a
resurgence of downtown retail. Many chain
retailers have downsized their footprints in
order to squeeze into urban locations, while
independent retail and restaurants have created an
unprecedented mix of offerings.
Beyond downtown, perhaps the most underreported retail trend is the retrofitting of suburban
America, creating walking lifestyle options outside of big-city downtowns. Ellen Dunham-Jones,
co-author of "Retrofitting Suburbia," has tracked
these retrofitted suburban projects (most of them
replacing defunct shopping malls) and now has
some 1,500 such projects chronicled-and the
number is growing.
While we have not traveled to every downtown
or suburban retrofit in the country, we have seen
enough to notice something intriguing about this

GlobalShop 2018
March 27-29
Sponsored by Shop!
In cooperation with IIDA

Chicago | McCormick Place
globalshop.org
CONTACT US:
1145 Sanctuary Pkwy., Ste. 355
Alpharetta, GA 30009-4772

FEBRUARY 2018

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

relatively new breed of retail. These storefronts are
being treated much like those in a shopping mall,
despite the fact that the stores that occupy these
new spaces feature windows à la Fifth Avenue or
the Magnificent Mile.
Street-side retail storefronts create opportunities for dimension, for eye-catching window
displays that draw shoppers into the store-
and yet a surprising number of retailers opt to
minimize windows and even cover them with
oversized graphics and one-dimensional merchandising. This tactic not only nullifies the opportunity
windows create, but also prevents shoppers from
even seeing into the store.

SHOW STAFF:
→ Founder and Show Director Doug
Hope (770) 291-5453 doug.hope@
emeraldexpo.com → Associate Show
Director Heather Kuznetz
(770) 291-5512 heather.kuznetz@
emeraldexpo.com → Senior Account
Executive Kerry Tyler (770) 291-5432
kerry.tyler@emeraldexpo.com →
Account Executive Donna McKerrow
(770) 291-5506 donna.mckerrow@
emeraldexpo.com

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

The domestic visual merchandising
profession is our last best hope to optimize
window space. But right now, the tools,
budget and performance aren't there yet-
we're far behind. As an example, European
retailers, which have a long history of
thriving, walkable, windowed retail downtowns, purchase 10 TIMES the number of
mannequins as U.S. retailers, even though
that retail market is smaller than that of the
United States.
It is time to think of urban retail and
suburban retrofit development differently than
shopping malls, taking a lesson from Europe and
from our own destination downtowns. Speaking of
those destination downtowns, a number of retailers
are partnering with GlobalShop exhibitors next
month to create new and engaging windows on
Chicago's Magnificent Mile. (For more on walkable
retail, there are two conference sessions that explore
the new main street, as well as reclaiming suburban
retail. Register online at globalshop.org.)

→ Marketing Director Vanessa Ruiz
(770) 291-5502 vanessa.ruiz@emerald
expo.com → Conference Manager Toni
Ward (770) 291-5441 antoinette.ward@
emerald expo.com → Senior Operations
Manager Derrick Nelloms (770) 291-5452
derrick.nelloms@emeraldexpo.com →
Executive Vice President Joe Randall
joe.randall@emeraldexpo.com

EMERALD EXPOSITIONS:
→ CEO and President David Loechner
→ CFO and Treasurer Philip Evans →
Chief Information Officer Bill Charles →
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
and Secretary David Gosling → Senior
Vice President, Operations Lori Jenks
→ Senior Vice President, Marketing
Operations Joanne Wheatley →
Vice President, Human Resources
Eileen Deady → Vice President,
Corporate Operations Denise Bashem

Photo by EQROY/SHUTTERSTOCK
http://www.globalshop.org http://www.expo.com http://www.globalshop.org http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG
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