2010 IRDC Recap

The tenth annual International Retail Design Conference in Toronto presented a bevy of bold ideas.

A bevy. It started with Presenting Sponsor Seven Continents’ idea to make the Welcome Reception at its Toronto headquarters an event, complete with Caribana dancers, body painting and a runway show of spring/summer 2011 fashions. (Truly an affair to remember. Check out the video.)

The next morning Bonnie Brooks, president and ceo of The Bay, shared in the opening keynote the bold moves she took in reinventing the world’s oldest department store—including dropping 800 brands. (And adding 250.) “One must practice creativity but also bravery,” she said.

Closing keynoter Tim Pfeiffer, former senior vp, global design for Starbucks, walked attendees through the iconic brand’s journey to reconnect with customers—by de-branding its stores. “Coffee hadn’t changed, but things people connected to and valued had shifted,” he explained. Starbucks stores can now draw from a 600-element design library to create the customer experience, while designers are focusing on better understanding local markets.

Breakout sessions in between covered initiatives such as integrating shoppers’ mobile devices into the store experience … using visual merchandising to connect with local communities … and holding events and using social media to engage Gen X and Y consumers.

Just a sampling of the IRDC experience had by more than 300 store designers and visual merchandisers at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle, October 13-15.

HEARD AT IRDC 2010 

“Renovation cycles have been reduced across Europe.
The average renovation for a non-food retailer is every five years.” 
Claudia Horbert, EHI
European Design Trends 

“[Physical] space is the pure differentiator in luxury brands.”
Philip Rosenzweig, Georgio Armani, who did a cost-per-square-foot analysis 
of a first class airplane seat and a coach seat to illustrate his point. The New Age of Luxury

 “Overdesign is out. We don’t want to shop in nightclubs.”
Glenn Pushelberg, Yabu Pushelberg
Retail Trends Across Canada

“Going all the way back to Socrates, we’re taught that we are rational beings
and we make decisions based on logic. That is a bunch of crap.”
Brett Townsend, Frito Lay North America
Getting Customers to Look Beyond Price

“Nobody ever walked into our store with no clothes on, so they don’t need to buy anything.
So we’re behind from the start.”
David Lindsey, corporate vp, store planning, Nordstrom Inc.
Getting Customers to Look Beyond Price