International Retail Design Conference

VM+SD’s sixth annual International Retail Design Conference concluded three successful days of information, inspiration, networking and fun on Friday, September 8, in San Francisco.

The city itself, and its historic Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, were an appropriate setting for presentations by The Gap, Pacific Sunwear, McDonald’s, Best Buy, Harley-Davidson, J.C. Penney, Lowe’s and many other important retail and brand names.

Nordstrom was presented this year’s VM+SD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year award.

The conference was truly international, with attendees from 15 different countries and six continents. They saw intense first-person reports about retail issues and challenges in China, India, Dubai and throughout Europe.

Other sessions discussed color trends, retailing to teens, green retailing, renovations and lighting issues and codes.

The conference also included two of its popular, innovative network roundtable sessions and retail tours of San Francisco.

Next year’s IRDC will be in Atlanta Sept. 19-21, 2007.

Atlanta is home to some of the most exciting, innovative retail concepts in the nation in a city known for being both progressive and historic. From the Civil War to Coca-Cola to CNN to the Carter Center to the origins of Martin Luther King’s historic crusade for civil rights to the brand new Atlantic Station, Atlanta is a city of commercial and cultural excitement. For more information on the 2007 IRDC, keep an eye on www.irdconline.com. There will be opportunities there to gather information, get periodic updates and register for the conference when registration goes live next year.

Below, see images from this year’s event. More 2006 IRDC updates will appear on this site.