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Extreme Makeover: Retail Edition

The VM+SD 2007 Retail Renovation Competition

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For the latest installment in addictive reality television, tune in to one of the many home renovation shows. Programs like “Flip that House” or “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” offer a behind-the-scenes taste of renovating a space, from the design plans through all the problems and up to the climactic reveal.

There’s no less drama behind the scenes of real-life retail renovations – in a lot of ways, there’s more. A home renovation is largely about aesthetics and the property owner’s taste. Those elements are important in retail renovations, as well, with one crucial twist: Will the new design drive business?

To honor the blood, sweat and two-by-fours that go into such massive endeavors, VM+SD created the Retail Renovation Competition, which, for the third year in a row, takes an exclusive look at retailers’ makeover processes. This year’s contest included a slew of entries from around the world and across the retail spectrum: a roller skating rink-turned-furniture store, an Australian surf shop, a supermarket in Turkey. But which retailer had the most intensive process? And in the end, amidst myriad hurdles, who was able to turn a less-than-desirable space into a retail gem that wows?

Armed with “before,” “during” and “after” project photos, a panel of judges gathered at the Cincinnati offices of FRCH Design Worldwide to select seven winning entries and a Renovation of the Year.

The overall winner was Panino Sportivo (New York), a 1440-square-foot panini shop designed by New York-based Studios GO Intl., for converting an awkward-shaped space into a sleek and trendy sandwich shop. “It was a tremendous challenge,” said one of the judges, Jim Kelly, design director at Macy’s Inc. (Cincinnati). “They didn’t have good bones to work with, but managed to develop a great little restaurant.”

Coverage of this project, and all the other winners, is featured on the following pages. An awards ceremony for the Renovation of the Year and a presentation by two of the winning teams will take place during the International Retail Design Conference, September 19-21, in Atlanta.

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This year’s Cincinnati-area judges were: Macy’s Kelly; Nadine King, design manager, Luxottica Retail Group; Andrew McQuilkin, vp, design director, FRCH Design Worldwide; Robert Rich, principal, BHDP Architecture; Harry Sparks, AGI Intl.; and Alison Mann, a student at the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

To find out more about VM+SD’s Retail Renovation Competition, or to enter next year’s contest, contact assistant editor Lauren Mang at 513-263-9380 or lauren.mang@stmediagroup.com. Also check www.vmsd.com for updates.

And remember, Bravo: We had it first.

[The contest’s policy is that judges whose firms worked on projects entered in the competition are not present during discussions and voting on those submissions.]

We've divided up the winners into two parts for your viewing pleasure. Part I and Part II

And don't forget to check out the 2007 Renovation of the Year here.

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