Celebrating the Life of Alton Doody

Why is Columbus, Ohio, the retail design capital of the world? To know that answer is to know the influence Alton Doody has had on the retail industry. Doody is credited as the inspiration behind the birth and growth of retail design, beginning in Columbus. He’s regarded as a leading expert on the changing structure and economics of retailing, and predicted the future of “e-retailing” 30 years before it happened, referring to as “electronic retailing.”

Last November, Doody returned to Columbus to live with his children, while undergoing cancer treatment. As he is in the final days of his life, his friends, former employees and colleagues organized “The Gathering” this month at the offices of Chute Gerdeman to celebrate with him and share their deep-seeded appreciation and enjoyment of a lifetime of growth and mutual learning under the “spark” of Doody’s energy and ideas. More than 100 people attended the gathering, referred to as “The Greatest Generation of Retail Strategists, Designers, Planners, Merchandisers, Installers, POS Specialists, Automotive Retailers, Death Care Retailers, Culinary Specialists, Restaurateurs, and Close Friends ever assembled in one place at one time.”

Doody earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University (OSU). After a successful career as a marketing professor at OSU, co-authoring one of the original and most widely used textbooks on retail marketing, Doody co-founded the retail marketing think-tank, Management Horizons, in the mid-1960s. In 1976, Doody wanted to move beyond strategic retail consulting into space planning, merchandise planning and creative environmental design for stores. Since his partners wanted to continue focusing on the strategic work, Doody led a small group in the formation of The Doody Company, with a goal of assisting retailers in the design and reformatting of their stores.

Prior to the development of The Doody Company, most retail design work was being produced by architects and interior designers, which resulted in a “bricks and mortar approach” to store design, focusing on materials, colors and finishes rather than on how to display and merchandise the product in a manner that would promote sales. The Doody Company was a pioneer in developing a process that created more effective store designs that were rolled out across the country.

In 1983, Doody sold his firm to a group of company officers who changed the name to Retail Planning Associates (RPA), which continued to grow and produce effective store formats in 27 countries around the world. Hundreds of skilled designers and retail strategists were trained and became part of a developing industry, which resulted in dozens of spin-off companies that specialize in retail marketing services to the industry, including Chute Gerdeman, one of several retail design firms still operating in Columbus, Ohio. RPA was subsequently merged into Fitch, a London-based international design firm with offices around the world.

Doody's retail marketing vision lives on today in the evolving processes used by many successful retail marketing service companies. Major retailers the world over can trace part of their success to the revolutionary principles and ideas introduced by Doody.