The retail industry’s creative professionals collaborative community
since 1961
WELCOME
We are the retail industry’s creative professionals. We were founded in 1961 to be a collaborative community where ideas, knowledge and passion would be shared at a local level and enable our members to fulfill the fast-paced planning and design needs of retail. Today, our membership includes architects, graphic designers, lighting designers, interior designers, store planners, visual merchandisers, resource designers, brand strategists, educators, trade partners, trade media and students of design.
NEWS AND EVENTS
The 48th International Design Competition is now Open!
The Institute’s 48th annual design competition celebrates outstanding and innovative retail spaces that encourage new techniques in planning, design, graphics, fixturing, lighting and visual merchandising.
Design firms and in-house retail design teams from around the globe are invited to submit projects covering all retail formats. (No entries accepted from general contractors, allied trades, fixture manufactures, material suppliers or owners’ representatives.) The competition celebrates exceptional retail experiences ranging from full-line traditional department stores to specialty apparel stores and restaurants to kiosks and pop-up shops.
Eligible projects are those completed between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. The competition portal opens Tuesday, December 11, 2018 for entries and closes Friday, February 15, 2019.
Submissions require a 750-word narrative, plus photo captions for each submitted image (maximum of 8 for specialty stores and 12 for department store, big box and mass merchant categories) and a floor plan. The narrative should cover the project’s scope, goals and objectives, customer journey and branding. Text should also outline details such as store planning, design, materials, lighting and visual merchandising. Entrants are also asked to list the general contractor and suppliers to the project including additional consultants and contractors, plus equipment and decor vendors.
The “Class of 2018” (finalists for Best in Class award) will be announced in March 2019. The Store of Year (Best in Class) winner will be announced at the 48th Awards Gala & Fundraiser scheduled for May 22, 2019 in New York City. Winning projects will also be published in CSA magazine.
Boston Retail Guide 2018 – Boston Stores Deserving a Visit
The Boston Retail Guide is an annual listing of of new and notable Boston merchants. This 2018 listing of shops to visit includes retailers on Newbury Street and shops at Prudential Center / Copley Place. Click here to visit the news posting.
Click the link below to download and read this listing in PDF format.
RetailINTEL Economic Brief: Mid-year 2018 | Tariffs and taxes and trade wars, oh my!
Gathering storm clouds are beginning to cast shadows on what has been a recent fairly-positive economic period, with a bull-market for stocks that has lasted nine years, the third longest stock market upswing in history, and produced a gain of around 200 percent to date—rebuilding much of its recessionary loss of around $15 trillion. Retail Intel uses the term “fairly-positive,” because the economic recovery, while dramatic overall, has not lifted all boats. Stock market gains have been highly concentrated and dominated by large technology stocks. Just five companies: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook make up more than 15 percent of the…
iKOU is the 2017 Store of the Year!
The Retail Design Institute named iKOU, a specialty skincare retailer located in Sydney’s historic Queen Victoria Building, its 2017 Store of the Year. The honor was announced May 23 at the Institute’s 47th Awards Gala & Fundraiser in New York City.
Designed by Pinto Tuncer, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, iKOU, is a holistic, ethically sourced, luxury skincare brand. The Pinto Tuncer design team sought to translate iKOU’s philosophy — “encouraging mindful and relaxing moments inspired by nature” – into a clinical-yet-inviting haven. Clearly zoned through planning and materiality, iKOU’s two distinct-but-intertwined zones define the customer experience.
Announcing the Mark V. Looper Award for Design Collaboration
There’s a new award being offered in time for the 2018 Student Design Competition already underway.
“We’ve added the ‘Mark V. Looper Award for Design Collaboration,’ because Mark was a champion of collaboration,” notes Andrew McQuilkin, FRDI, chairman of the Student Design Competition.” Throughout his career, McQuilkin explains, “Mark invited and inspired individuals to work together. So the Institute feels strongly about using this opportunity to recognize those who do at the earliest stages in their design profession.”
The Institute’s International Executive Board approved the recognition in January and determined the award would go to the Student Group winner — in Mark’s memory. The Student Design Prize Fund is currently funded with proceeds from the International Design Competition entry fees and the Awards Gala ticket sales. Now, anyone can contribute to the Looper award.
2018 Student Design Competition Winners Announced!
Our thanks to the Atlanta | Southeast Chapter for assembling a blue-chip judging panel which met June 2 at the Atlanta office of Cushman & Wakefield to review the 50 entries representing dozens of design schools and the work of individuals and student groups. This year’s competition – to design a gourmet grocer – was inspired by the real-world acquisition of Whole Foods Market by Amazon. Specials thanks to Ryan Cavanaugh, AIA, RDI, design manager, Gensler and Lindsay Henningfeld, RDI, corporate visual merchandiser, SunTrust Banks, Atlanta. They are president and vice president, respectively, of the Atlanta |Southeast Chapter….
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Stores of the Year Vol. 21
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