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Come for the Connections, Leave Inspired

This year’s IRDC proves a powerful avenue of idea-sharing and collaboration

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The 15th annual International Retail Design Conference in Austin, Texas, is officially in the books. Participation was at a record high this year, with more than 400 attendees present throughout the event’s Sept. 9-11 duration. Being my first IRDC, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, other than what I’ve been hearing since this past January, when I accepted an associate editor position with VMSD magazine. But I was fairly certain it would be an amazing learning experience for a sort-of newbie like myself.

This year’s main events were preluded by an opening reception, where a large number (even more than previous years, according to my colleagues) of the industry’s best and brightest congregated for drinks and a chance to mingle with other retail/design professionals. For a first-time IRDC participant, I adamantly recommend this to anyone who is new to the conference. Here, I got a feel for the people I’d be meeting throughout the event, and was able to connect with several people that I chatted with again at later conference functions.

Kicking off the three-day conference, opening keynote speaker, Zady.com co-founder Soraya Darabi shared her experiences as a millennial entrepreneur of a brand which prides itself on offering curated artisanal goods that are manufactured by small, independent business owners around the world. Darabi spoke about brand authenticity, transparency and sustainable sourcing in her session, which transitioned into a compelling Q&A, where conference guests were able to tap Darabi for her perspectives on some of the issues presently challenging retailers.

Another buzzed-about feature was the 10th annual Iron Merchant challenge, co-presented by ZenGenius Inc. (Columbus, Ohio). Six teams, each with 10 to 12 members, were tasked with fabricating one-of-a-kind window displays in just one hour, using a secret ingredient (this year, flagging tape) and a VM toolkit, provided by ZenGenius, focusing on this year’s theme: “Zenspiration.”

To announce the theme, Joe Baer, ceo, creative director and co-founder of ZenGenius, invited guests to light the candles that had been set on their tables, as a partition wall was peeled back to reveal real-life yoga performers and the VM display cases for each team. The presenting sponsor of IRDC 2015 created the challenge’s custom wood-grain, tree-pose yoga mannequins. Participants and spectators sipped cocktails and were entertained along the way by Columbus, Ohio-based indie electronic duo, Fine Animal, which echoed a creative, mellow vibe during the festivities.

The following morning, attendees voted on their favorite of the six displays. Each presentation, although created with the same arsenal of materials, varied wildly: One team even went so far as to suspend their mannequin upside-down, while another placed its mannequin outside the display case all together! Just before Thursday afternoon’s awards reception, the voting chips were counted; the retail-savvy masses named the Red Team, led by VMSD Editorial Advisory Board member and VMSD blogger, David Kepron, the winner of Iron Merchant X.

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Throughout the conference, more than 50 speakers presented 33 thought-provoking sessions in a variety of formats. General session speakers, including Lee Peterson (WD Partners), Faith Bartrug (Faith Bartrug Design) and Jennifer Fredritz (Ologie), and David Kepron (Little), spoke to broader topics on the minds of retailers and designers, including the rise of Alibaba-model online retailers, independent retail trends and the origin of creativity in the brain. Smaller-format breakout and power-track sessions allowed attendees the flexibility to pick and choose based on their niche retail, design and merchandising interests.

Beyond the sessions, guests were encouraged to participate in networking roundtable lunches, where each table was assigned a pertinent discussion topic, including “ROI of design,” “grocery and food retailing challenges” and “bringing the online to bricks-and-mortar,” just to name a few. The collaboration opportunities here were clearly utilized: Participants weighed in and provided their individual perspectives based on their unique industry viewpoint.

Thursday evening’s IRDC closing party was a much-anticipated chance for attendees to let their hair down and enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while checking out Austin hotspot, The Market and Tap Room. Three large areas of the multi-leveled venue were filled with event-goers and sponsors, and it was a thrill to see their excitement about the conference and hear their immediate feedback. Again, I cannot emphasize to future IRDC attendees enough: Go to these events, network and make new friends that you’ll look forward to seeing year-after-year at the conference – I know I did!

Closing the conference this year, Christian Davies gave a moving presentation called “Generous Brands 2.0.” In his session, Davies shared with the crowd inspiring stories of retailers who are taking active steps to make a difference in the world, starting with their local communities. He emphasized the misguided attempts of companies that had, in a sense, tried to “boil the ocean.” In other words, you can’t “solve world _____” (fill-in-the-blank problem); you have to start small to make a real, scalable difference. Leading the charge for change is Gen Y, and the most-recent generation, Gen Z, who Davies says is proving to be the most socially responsible generation to date.

One of the most moving examples of brand generosity came from my own neighborhood: Luxottica’s OneSight program has built a vision center in Price Hill, Cincinnati’s Oyler School. There, underprivileged children are provided eye exams, frames and prescription lenses at no cost to their families. Davies shared a video of the organization’s program, which imparted the story of an elementary school girl who was unable to see the lines on her school papers. Thanks to the program, she was given a pair of bright pink frames and, ultimately, a sense of pride in herself and her scholastic abilities. Looking around the room, there were few dry eyes at the video’s conclusion. (View the video of Davies' presentation here.)

Davies' message resonated intensely with attendees. It was clear after his presentation that many of those in the audience were eager to return to their offices and spread the message of brand generosity and search for community-enrichment efforts for their companies to get behind. Leaving the conference, I too was deeply moved by the topic, and I felt honored to be part of – or at least witness to – an industry that genuinely cares so much about the world around them; not just dollars and cents.

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The conference was, as I expected, a fantastic learning opportunity for me. I truly enjoyed being able to connect with such a great group of talented people from all over the world. I owe a big thanks to all of you who welcomed me to my first IRDC with open arms. I can’t wait to see you all again next year, Sept. 13-15, 2016, in Montreal.

Kaileigh Peyton is the Associate Editor of VMSD magazine. She lives and works in Cincinnati and is a 2011 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she studied Journalism and Psychology. Prior to her position with VMSD, Kaileigh worked as a contracted editor for a consumer goods company, and was an intern at Cincinnati Magazine and Cincinnati Wedding, for whom she also freelanced. Contact her at kaileigh.peyton@stmediagroup.com.

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