Great expectations

Mark your calendars. March 16-18 at GlobalShop in Chicago's McCormick Place conference and exposition center may be the only few days this year to really grasp what's ahead for the retail design industry. And remember, this is the largest event of its kind in retail design and brand marketing in the United States, boasting more than 17,000 attendees and more than a 1,000 of the world's top suppliers for retail design, so take full advantage of the opportunities.

GlobalShop 2003 will offer attendees a navigational exhibition area of five different pavilions, including the Store Fixturing Show, POP Marketplace, The Visual Merchandising Show, Store Design & Operations and the Digital Store (replacing the i3 pavilion of last year.) Educational seminars (before, after and throughout the conference) and a few new features, such as an enhanced product showcase, which spotlights some of the most innovative products in the retail design industry, will also benefit GlobalShop-pers.

Of course, who better to ask about GlobalShop than those who regularly attend the show? Display & Design Ideas questioned several retailers and designers on what they expect out of the upcoming GlobalShop.

"I definitely come with an expectation or hope that I will encounter newness," says Barbara Emerson, vice president, store planning and design, Sephora USA, San Francisco. "Sephora might appear to have an established design, but in fact, we are always introducing new fixtures, new materials and new ways to merchandise our stores. This show serves the purpose of stimulating new thoughts for me and my store design group. We rarely buy off-the-shelf fixturing, but we find excellent resources for customizing."

All attendees are looking for something in particular at the show, and GlobalShop has the responsibility of meeting these agendas. "This year, I'm looking for space saving ideas in fixturing," says Jim Paddock, vice president of store planning for Dallas-based CompUSA Inc. "I'm also interested in graphic techniques to present solutions to our customers."

Blockbuster Entertainment's Kevin Brailsford, vice president of store design, planning, merchandising at the company's headquarters in Dallas, is looking for "that ever elusive, very inexpensive, always cool, transformer type fixture that immediately sells everything it holds."

Since GlobalShop celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, many repeat attendees can recall a remarkable year when they made that important contact or found the perfect fixturing system or unit for a new store design. "1997 was the most successful year," says Paddock. "We were seeking new display ideas, fixturing and graphic solutions. We found them all during GlobalShop that year. We went away with new vendor relationships for all." Last year's show helped Emerson get the ball rolling on her projects. "Last year, I came away with several new resources that we have taken advantage of in new and existing stores," she says.

Another request for this year's show was for the inclusion of a platform of diverse seminar topics. "This is a time to offer a point of view and to think differently," suggests Mark Artus, partner and chief creative officer at RPA, Columbus, Ohio. "Everyone clambers for a position to then just plug who they are and be seen. I don't want to sound pretentious, but it does nothing for our industry if the topics are same old, same old." Well, all attendees can expect a varied menu of topics concerning the retail design industry's most current issues, from the future of department stores to the impact of the shrinking middle class. And DDI is presenting a pre-conference seminar, Day of Design, on March 15 that will address the latest trends in retail design (see page 66).

If everyone comes to Globalshop 2003 with "strategy, vision and an open mind," in the words of James Damian, senior vice president of visual merchandising and store design for Best Buy Co. Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn., attendees are sure to walk away with a positive experience.

For more information on GlobalShop, please visit www.globalshop.org.