Conference Growth

ST Media Group Intl. (Cincinnati), parent company of VM+SD magazine, announced that the recent International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), held Sept. 21-23, 2005, at The Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, brought more than 300 retailers, designers, and other industry personnel together to learn about and discuss the most pressing issues in retail design.

Retailers representing combined retail chains of more than 98,000 locations and annual sales of $456 billion participated, providing sponsors with excellent networking opportunities with this elite audience.

IRDC is a hotel-based educational event especially programmed for designers and builders of retail environments. The conference featured general sessions with keynote speakers, concurrent breakout sessions, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities.

“VM+SD's International Retail Design conference provided a unique opportunity for industry professionals to network with their peers, ask questions of the experts, and discuss the trends that will drive the future of retail,” said ST Media Group president Tedd Swormstedt. “There is no other event quite like this, and we are excited that our attendee base expands each year.”

At a special session, VM+SD bestowed its annual Peter Glen/VM+SD “Retailer of the Year” award on Federated Department Stores. Federated vice chairman Tom Cole accepted the award and told the assembled crowd about Federated's new direction, including the re-branding of Marshall Field’s to Macy’s, announced that week.

Two other VM+SD awards honored Lane Bryant for Renovation of the Year and Holt Renfrew for Visual Merchandising Display of the Year.

The 2006 Conference will be held at The Fairmont Hotel, September 6-8 in San Francisco. Interested parties may sign up for email updates at www.irdconline.com.

The International Retail Design Conference is presented by VM+SD, the leading magazine and voice for the visual merchandising and store design industry. It is published monthly by Cincinnati-based ST Media Group Intl., which serves visual communicators with its five trade publications, branded web sites, custom book division and events. VM+SD and ST Media Group International may be reached at 513-421-2050, or through their web sites, www.vmsd.com and www.stmediagroup.com.