Market Review: Store Concepts

Attendees to Store Concepts 2002 enjoyed a cool spring weekend in New York as approximately 20 companies opened their doors to unveil new lines and products (some of which debuted at EuroShop earlier this year). The annual event was organized by Visual New York (VNY), an alliance of showrooms located around Manhattan.

Bernstein Display (Astoria, N.Y.) has moved its showroom to the ground-level space on 25th Street previously occupied by George Dell. Among the products featured in the predominately red and white showroom were forms covered with Christine Taylor's floral textured fabric and detailed with plexiglas and laser cut bases to demonstrate the company's manufacturing capabilities. Carol Barnhart, formerly of Carol Barnhart Mannequins, has joined the company as national sales manager.

DK Display (New York) featured Bonaveri, MD Studio, New John Nissen and Schläppi mannequins and forms in an orange-themed environment, complete with orange popsicles. Of note were translucent, puzzle-like forms called Nudo from MD Studio, and male mannequins with dreadlocks from New John Nissen.

Goldsmith (New York) featured several collections of mannequins in pearlescent finishes, a number of display units, decorative ceramics by Jonathan Adler and lamps by Octubre in an all-white setting.

Look (New York) was another oasis in white. The company's Hudson Street showroom featured illuminated modular fixtures and graphic display units, including a web-based image projection system developed in partnership with Dynamic Spaces, a New York digital graphics house.

Patina-V (City of Industry, Calif.) featured Fashionista, a new line of realistic mannequins available in a variety of faces and unusual poses including sitting and crouching. Also in the showroom was Flex, a line of very buff male mannequins.

Leo Prager, Inc. (New York) has been manufacturing a wide variety of display fixtures for 65 years, so the showroom featured a nicely mounted photography exhibit of client stores from past decades. Archival photos of store interiors from Gimbels, R.H. Stearns and Bloomingdale's shared the walls with framed letters on letterheads from notable retailers. The archival information is also available on the recently upgraded web site, www.leoprager.com.

Pucci Intl. (New York) filled its showroom with yoga mannequins, developed in conjunction with supermodel Christy Turlington's launch of her own line of casual fashions inspired by yoga. Also featured was the usual Pucci assortment of furniture, lighting, floor coverings and artwork.

The Silvestri California (Los Angeles) showroom opened to a collection of cast fiberglass classical architectural and garden decoratives, then filled a dramatically lit black showroom with elegant shapes and vessels in a variety of finishes. The company says it will return with mannequins and forms in December.

ShopEast, the tradeshow component of the December market, has been canceled for 2002 by its show organizer, VNU Expositions. As of presstime, the New York showrooms are proceeding with plans of their own. To remain informed as these plans develop, visit the VM+SD web site, www.vmsd.com.

During Store Concepts, VM+SD moderated a two-hour forum that asked (and answered) the question: How do you create a distinguished retail brand?

VM+SD associate publisher Carole Winters moderated the session – “How Visual Merchandising Supports the Retail Brand: Past, Present, and Future” – at the Fashion Institute of Technology amphitheater. Panelists included Ignaz Gorischek, vp of visual planning and presentation at Neiman Marcus; Steven Wilburn, national director of stores for Saks Fifth Avenue; and Eric Feigenbaum, president and director of creative services at Globe Arts and an adjunct professor at F.I.T.

Gorischek likened successful branding to a recipe: “When the ingredients are right, the results are good.” He suggested that every company needs a mission statement distilling its brand philosophy. Neiman Marcus, for example, hasn't veered from its basic philosophy since its founding in 1907. “The minute you change the recipe it doesn't turn out the same,” he said. “Consistency is critical when it comes to building a brand.”

Feigenbaum used Nike as an exceptional example of good brand packaging. “I think of visual merchandising as a kind of directory that helps customers move from one focal point to another through the store,” he added. “Show the customers the merchandise you want them to see and you will sell them the merchandise you want them to buy.”

Wilburn explained that at Saks, “the entire brand image comes from one spot – our New York store, founded in 1924 when art deco was at its height. Now, although we have 62 full-line stores, the look is still definably Saks and is driven by the New York store.”

After the panel discussion, Winters unveiled the winning entries in VM+SD's ninth annual Visual Competition. Full coverage of that contest will appear in the September issue of VM+SD.

On May 19, retiring display industry veteran George Dell was “roasted” by friends and colleagues at a dinner held at F.I.T. David Terveen, DK Display and president of VNY, kicked off the evening, followed by contributions from Michael Southgate (formerly of Rootstein), Michael Stewart (currently of Rootstein), James Maharg (Look), Bill McHenry (Elevations), Darcy Bisker (ColorSpace Designs) and ST Media Group president Tedd Swormstedt. A donation from Visual New York in George Dell's name was presented to the F.I.T. display and design department.