VMSD - October 2012 - (Page 4)

FE FROM THE EDITOR Words to Work By Three days at IRDC provide a year’s worth of inspiration and ideas. 11262 Cornell Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45242 P: 513.421.2050 | F: 513.421.5144 vmsd@stmediagroup.com | VMSD.com If designers think in pictures, then editors think in terms of quotes. The notebook sitting on my desk from the 2012 VMSD International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) is filled with pages of facts, statistics and some paragraph-stopping good quotes. Some make me smile when I read them and think back on our three days in Chicago this past September. “It’s the special extraordinary moments that catch our attention,” announced Joe Baer, founder of ZenGenius, before unveiling this year’s secret ingredient in the Iron Merchant Visual Challenge. Some will keep me pondering for months to come. “The person who designs the experience is the person who understands the customer best,” Francesco Cordua, director of retail design at McDonald’s USA, told the audience during his closing keynote on the fastfood chain’s efforts to transform its multi-billion dollar brand. Many of the discussions at this year’s event, from the keynote and breakout sessions to the always-chatty networking roundtable lunches, centered on the idea of experience. “It’s about how I feel when I walk into your store. The products are just the souvenirs,” Bob Phibbs said during his opening presentation, “Yesterday’s Gone: Thriving in Store Design Today.” His point: People, not prices, make us excited about retail, and it’s up to the designers and creative minds in our industry to keep the fun alive. It’s certainly at work at Macy’s Inc., this year’s VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year. “When we think about bringing a store to life, we think about the energy,” says Amy Hanson, Macy’s executive vp, property development and credit and customer services. Case in point is what’s going on inside the retailer’s top-to-bottom renovation of its Herald Square flagship. Many of the ideas and lessons shared during the IRDC case study presentations rallied around experience, too, from Liverpool’s elegant, modern flagship in Interlomas, Mexico, to Target’s new CityTarget concept. Among the innovations at the Chicago site are the amped-up visual presentation and introduction of mannequins – the latter being a first for the big box retailer. So, why now? “It’s one way to elevate the experience for our guests,” says Eames Gilmore, architectural design manager for Target. From Target to McDonald’s and every retail sector in-between, today’s focus on elevating experiences is the most important and relevant tool at your disposal. After all, “If you’re not connecting with the customer, being good at everything else doesn’t matter,” says McDonald’s Cordua. Words to design and live by. EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Anne DiNardo anne.dinardo@stmediagroup.com Senior Art Director Kimberly Pegram kim.pegram@stmediagroup.com Associate Editor Robin Donovan robin.donovan@stmediagroup.com Editor at Large Steve Kaufman steve.kaufman@stmediagroup.com New York Editor Eric Feigenbaum European Editor John Ryan, London SALES Publisher U.S. / Canada Murray Kasmenn murray.kasmenn@stmediagroup.com P: 770.578.2577 Business Development Manager International Patricia Iannelli patricia.iannelli@stmediagroup.com Via G. Rossini 16, 21100 Varese, Italy P: +39.0332.240285 C O R P O R AT E President Tedd Swormstedt Audience Development Director Christine Baloga Production Coordinator Keri Harper Book Division Director Mark Kissling Reprint Information 800-925-1110, ext. 399 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES P.O. Box 1060 / Skokie, IL 60076 P: (847) 763-4938 / F: (847) 763-9030 VMSD@halldata.com WHITN EY HA RROD, CIN CINN ATI 4 OCTOBER 2012 | vmsd.com http://www.VMSD.com http://www.vmsd.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - October 2012

VMSD - October 2012
Contents
From the Editor
VMSD Editorial Advisory Board
The Goods
Design Detail
Next Store
City Lights
Sporting Luxury
Guys Just Want to Have Fun
Iron Maiden
Showroom
Showroom
Ad Index
Checking Out

VMSD - October 2012