DDi - October 2013 - (Page 8)

8 | From the Editor A means to an end E ach year, DDI takes stock of our surroundings and attempts to measure the general attitude and projection of the retail design industry. We call the survey the State of the Retail Design Industry, and email it out to our reader database. Each year, the results are not shocking, but are an expected gauge of the subtle swings and shifts a tumultuous industry like retail should and will continue to endure. The part of the survey that does tend to shift the most is the industry’s outlook on its own future. This year, I am happy to report that nearly 87 percent of survey respondents indicated that the design/store planning/visual component is either much more or somewhat more important than it was five years ago. Another 57 percent said the average retail designer’s job importance will continue to rise over the next five years. That is a huge sigh of relief and optimistic upward swing for the future of an industry that has certainly seen its ups and downs in the past decade. But, in reading through the entirety of this year’s survey results, this comment perhaps hit me most poignantly: “The largest ‘trend’ or shift in the market is understanding design to be a means to an end...no longer a superficial approach to creating nice stores, but a sharp tool that pointedly contributes to a very intentional customer experience fed by strategy built from many divisions or departments of retail organizations.” I cannot attribute the comment above. It came from a write-in question about current trends and happenings, and its author is, and will remain, a mystery. What I can tell you is that I agree wholeheartedly. A comment like this certainly makes you think. Boy, does it ever. Those of you who practice in the retail design profession know that today’s store designs are anything but superficial. Design is a toolkit that retailers can use to create brand loyalty, experience and expectation. Just look within the features in this issue. At the new Restoration Hardware (rebranded as RH, page 22) in Boston, the architecture of a retail store tells the history of a city. The store becomes an iconic piece of the urban landscape, thanks to a concerted effort to preserve, versus re-construct. | October 2013 At Converse (page 30) in San Francisco, in-store art sculptures (aka a sneaker chandelier and signage crafted from colored shoelaces) convey the irreverence a brand that coined the iconic Chuck Taylor simply has to have. Oh, and the main floor of the store was designed so that a rotating slew of local bands can come in and host an in-store concert any day of the week. Talk about customer experience. And then there’s American Express (page 36). Their new Centurion Lounge at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas exceeds every expectation the weary air traveler may have about grabbing a snack and drink before stepping foot on the plane. Think five-star chefs, full premium bar, luxury surroundings and a bento box to-go—now that’s using design to highlight the best a space can be. The stores highlighted in this issue speak to a larger trend happening around the customer experience in a retail store today, as my anonymous friend mentions at left. Design, when paired with the strategic efforts of marketing, operations, IT and, yes, even the CEO, is indeed the “sharp tool that pointedly contributes to a very intentional customer experience.” Here’s to keeping that tool sharp and bright in years to come. Alison Embrey Medina Executive Editor alison.medina@ddionline.com www.ddionline.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - October 2013

DDi - October 2013
Contents
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Restoration Hardware (RH)
Converse
American Express
State of the Retail Design Industry 2013
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds

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