Shu uemura is all about appearances. And the appearance of its South Coast Plaza store in Costa Mesa, Calif. caught judges’ attention in the 36th annual National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers Retail Design Awards. The beauty and skincare company was named NASFM’s Store of the Year for its sleek and elegant look.
At only 900 square feet, the shu uemura store commands the spotlight with bright lighting and an angled centerpiece called the Color Bar. Thrusting upward from the floor to the ceiling in sharp, sculpted angles, the fixture creates a 15-foot-long counter resting on a translucent base to showcase shu uemura’s high-end beauty products.
A white palette, accented by a delicate floral mural, and streamlined fixtures by High Country Millwork LLC (Longmont, Colo.) give the space an open feel and make the colorful products pop. Fluorescent bulbs built into the fixtures cast a glow upon the glass shelving and back walls.
Judges also unveiled 14 grand prizes and 15 outstanding merit prizes from 186 projects, and a Fixture of the Year this March at GlobalShop in Las Vegas.
For coverage of the first place winners in the design competition, click here.
Judges for this year’s competition were: Christian Davies, vp, retail design strategy/creative director, FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati); Ray Ehscheid, vp, brand manager, Bank of America (Charlotte, N.C.); Kristin Godsey, associate publisher/executive editor, VM+SD magazine (Cincinnati); Ignaz Gorischek, vp, store development, The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (Dallas); Ted Jacobs, creative director, Gensler Retail/Studio 585 (San Francisco); Lynn Knutson, visual merchandising program manager, Harley-Davidson Motor Co. (Milwaukee); RoxAnna Sway, editor, DDI magazine (Atlanta); and Marianne Wilson, executive editor, Chain Store Age magazine (New York).
shu uemura
Store of the Year
Design: shu uemura, Tokyo
Client: shu uemura, New York
Design: shu uemura, Tokyo
Architecture: Oshima Studio Inc., Pasadena, Calif.
TSC Design Associates Inc., New York
Fixtures: High Country Millwork LLC, Longmont, Colo.
Photography: Courtesy of shu uemura, Tokyo