Cindy Bass

Cindy Bass, corporate manager of visual development for Kohl's Department Stores, has been in retail pretty much her entire life.

A native of Southern California, she was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, where her family owned a small gift shop with home-made, craftsy items. “This is where I began my love for retail and was able to create fun visual windows and displays,” she says. “Thanks, Dad!”

After graduating from Woodbury University in Los Angeles with a degree in interior design and a business minor, she took an internship in the store planning department of May Department Stores California, and the rest is pretty much history.

Her retail journey took her to Jackson, Miss., with McRae's; to Little Rock, Ark., with Dillard's; and then to Menomonee Falls, Wis.

“At Dillard's, I was involved with the actual interior design of the stores,” she recalls, “designing the architectural elements within the shopping environment, everything from escalator wall design, shop and departmental concepts, cosmetic back-island designs, marble selections to all color/material selections.”

At Kohl's, she's still involved with many aspects of the store design despite her visual title. “I worked on the Home 2000 launch when Kohl's introduced the 'wooden' hutches,” she notes. “In 2001, I was involved with the new design concept of the misses' department, and in 2002 I was involved with the new design concept of the accessories department.”

I was working in store design at Dillard's, working closely with the visual department to make sure that the new interior design complemented the visual collateral, etc. I jumped the fence to visual in 1992.

Sometimes you think it's your idea or nothing. I learned early at May Co. that design, visual and store layout are all part of being a team. And I continue to carry that philosophy with me today. Teamwork will get the job done.

A comfortable yet exciting shopping experience. They notice our racetrack and how easy it is to shop from department to department. They notice the clean, crisp approach to visual merchandising. And, if they shop more than one location, they will notice the consistency of presentation from store to store.

Prada in SoHo. What a cool environment. Very sleek design elements and very clean visual presentations.

Jerry Neal. Although he is now retired from Kohl's and taking a time-out from the industry, he has been very instrumental in my career path. I worked with Jerry in 1985 at May Co. Although we went our separate ways for years, we kept in touch. Jerry is the reason I am at Kohl's today.

I think it will continue to be brand-driven. The collateral being installed in stores will also become very brand-driven. I would hope that the excitement and individuality of visual merchandising would continue as it is today. But with payroll hours, man-hours and budgets being constantly challenged, I see a very streamlined approach to visual merchandising.

Georgia O'Keeffe. I love her style of painting, and since I paint with watercolors, I would have loved to have sat with her and talked about some of her techniques.

I would love to say exercise – but not!!!!
I think I handle stress by going home and pulling weeds. Or gardening.

In May, installing a new jewelry component concept in a Kohl's store in Delafield, Wis. This program has now rolled forward into all our new store environments.