IRDC 2024 RECAP: Goin’ to Kansas City

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SOME KNOW IT AS the City of Fountains, others know it as a cradle for jazz or a BBQ destination. Whichever you identify as its claim to fame, the 2024 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) took over Kansas City, Mo., this past Oct. 9-10, for its 24th annual event.

Drawing hundreds of retailers, designers, suppliers, students and educators, the annual two-day event featured a range of interactivity, networking and inspiration, and kicked off with a welcome reception sponsored by Visual Elements in the historic lobby of the Muehlebach hotel.

The Green Team, led by Jeff Hastings, took home the coveted Iron Merchant Challenge sashes.

Welcome to the City

IRDC 2024 was kicked off by 9/11 Terrorist Attack survivor and New York Times bestselling author Michael Hingson. Drawing on his experiences from 9/11, as well as growing up blind and training many guide dogs, Hingson spoke on the importance of trust and what that means for collaboration and teamwork. From there, the audience was able to choose between two workshops – one focusing on the Chicken N Pickle brand (and the growing popularity of pickleball) with speakers Kelli Alldredge of Chicken N Pickle and Cynthia Ortiz of MBH Architects and another about color theory, featuring Andrea Magno of Benjamin Moore and Faith Huddleston of NELSON. Following this, a breakout session featuring Gabriela Jagodnik of MTVD Design Studio and Ensemble explored hospitality’s influence on retail, and another examined Foot Locker’s new store concepts, with Sarah Wexler of Foot Locker and Jordan Taylor of Landor. Following lunch and prior to the Retail Inspiration Offsite Tours, Sonia Spinks, formerly of Walmart Beauty and community arts leader, and Dayton Castleman of Verdant Studios, shared the importance of working with local artists and artist collaborations at retail.

Tour De Force

Two tour options were available to attendees this year, sponsored by Arcadis. Those who chose the VIP tour of the Hallmark’s Visitors Center were treated to interactive displays of artifacts from the iconic card company’s century long history. The tour also included insights into Hallmark’s partnerships and diverse portfolio of creative projects. Hosted by the Heartland Chapter of Retail Design Institute, the second option for attendees was a self-guided tour of Country Club Plaza. Encompassing 14 blocks, Country Club Plaza is home to 180 shops and restaurants and is known for its Spanish-inspired architecture and fountains – it’s also known as the first planned outdoor shopping center in the United States.

Power Plants

With the first day of IRDC 2024 coming to a close, the 18th annual Iron Merchant Challenge began. Co-hosted by ZenGenius Inc., and emceed by Joe Baer, ZenGenius’ Co-Founder, CEO and Creative Director, this year’s event celebrated natural beauty and the idea of wellness.

Using fresh flowers in each team’s unique color, provided by FloraSource KC, six teams of 10 attendees (retailers, designers, suppliers and students) created windows celebrating Mother Earth and the concept of joy. With an hour on the clock, the teams got work in their faux window displays created by Axis Display Group, which were equipped with digital screens provided by Cue Gravity and illuminated by Amerlux lighting. The specialty forms – created and supplied by Bernstein Display | Silverstri California – each featured plant-based shibori dyed fabric, which resulted in unique and unusual patterns. Necklaces provided by local boutique Made in KC served as merchandise for the teams to display.

When it came to the secret ingredient, there was a twist – the teams would need to incorporate two: The first, a Sonos speaker, supplied by Cue Gravity, to include sounds. The second was a superb owl (a play on the word “Super Bowl” and a nod to the Chiefs).

The Right Tools…

Ideation Conference & Retail Challenge 2024 took place Oct. 7-8, co-locating with the 2024 International Retail Design Conference in Kansas City. The event included several in-depth sessions that kicked off with an opening keynote from Brett Townsend, author and SVP of Strategy, Quester; another focusing on the Haagen-Dazs rebrand, from packaging and messaging to the in-store experience (featuring Adam Hason of Haagen-Dazs and Jon Arriaza of Chase Design); and a keynote from Marcelo Kertész, CMO of Manscaped. One of the highlights of the annual event is the Retail Challenge: The event was emceed by longtime VMSD Editorial Advisory Board member and industry consultant Bevan Bloemendaal and featured the brand Manscaped as its focus. Teams were charged with creating a brand activation by the end of the day – one that could be flexible/modular and appeal to a larger audience. The “Smooth Operators” took home the coveted win. Watch them build out their winning project IRL at the third annual Shop! MarketPlace trade show and conference, taking place April 8-10 in Charlotte, N.C. Visit shop-marketplace.com for more information or to register for the event today!

The More, The Merrier

The second day began with returning general session speaker Sarah Quinlan of SAQ Economic Advisory LLC, who updated attendees on the U.S. and international economies and what it means for retailers moving into 2025.

Attendees then split up for the morning’s breakout sessions: Vikas Srivastava of Fifth Third Bank and Declan McCormack of BHDP discussed Fifth Third Bank’s new, interactive experience inside Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl. Airport’s (CVG) Terminal B. Meanwhile, a panel featuring Juanita Garcia of Innovasport, Jesse Moyer of Levi Strauss & Co. and Jose Padron of The Hershey Co., explored the process of scaling brand experiences to fit varying and evolving consumer needs, with Jay Highland of WD Partners moderating.

The Winning Team Is…

The annual VMSD Awards Luncheon that afternoon highlighted award winners from VMSD’s various competitions throughout the year, including the 2024 Retail Renovation Competition (Sept/Oct issue), International Visual Competition (Jul/Aug), Designer Dozen (March/April) – and the 2024 VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year, which was awarded to Lego. (Read more about our Retailer of the Year in VMSD’s Sept/Oct issue.)

During the ceremony, VMSD’s Scholarship + Experience Scholarship through PAVE – Izzy Furioso – was also recognized and attended the event representing Kansas State University. (Another big congrats to Izzy!)
And which team won the coveted 2024 Iron Merchant Challenge? The Green Team, led by Jeff Hastings of VCI/Rose Displays. The final window featured a sprawling wreath of flowers and greenery, branching outside the display from the shibori-dyed form, placed in front of a digital screen bursting with leaves and vines.

VMSD recognized its 2024 Designer Dozen winners during its annual awards luncheon the second day.

Home Stretch

Following the awards luncheon, the general session brought to the stage panelists Jackie Farrar, Google Stores; Mark Brungo, Gensler; and Brian Alessi, Henderson Engineers, for a discussion moderated by Brent Felten, Henderson Engineers, about bridging the gap between sustainability and store development strategy at Google’s Boston flagship on Newbury Street.

Prior to the closing keynote, Halle Hannaford and Gwen Newland of Chick-fil-A, and Michael Trenary, Arcadis, discussed the challenges and successes of balancing business and customer-driven needs within a limited space. Concurrently, Eric Daniel and Daniel Montaño, both of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting Inc., moderated a panel discussion about conscious consumerism and purpose-driven retail design with Amy Jordan of Goodwill of the Southern Piedmont and Olivia Biagi of University Co-Op at the University of Texas Austin.

Singer and Grammy-award-winning artist Dr. Monte Selby capped off the content with his keynote presentation. Selby used attendee participation and played songs on his guitar to demonstrate the importance of pattern, emotion and collaboration in creative pursuits and artistry. Walking through the crowd and encouraging attendees to sing along, his presentation was the cherry on top to close out IRDC 2024.

The IRDC closing party, sponsored by Henderson Engineers, featured axe throwing and indoor putt-putt golf.

A KC-Style Party

The closing celebration in Kansas City’s Power and Light District at Blade & Timber and Sinkers Lounge, sponsored by Henderson Engineers, provided a variety of immersive, fun experiences spread across the two side-by-side locations. For most, the night began at Blade & Timber, an axe-throwing venue where attendees showed off their skills. Next door was Sinkers Lounge, an indoor putt-putt experience for attendees to connect, play and enjoy appetizers and drinks.

The VMSD and IRDC staff thanks all of our attendees, sponsors, speakers and other guests who joined us this year. For more regarding this year’s event, visit vmsd.com or irdconline.com. (And stay tuned to the magazine and the website for more info regarding IRDC 2025, coming soon!)

PHOTO GALLERY (10 IMAGES)
PHOTOS: STEVE PUPPE PHOTOGRAPHY, KANSAS CITY, MO.