VMSD Editor to Appear at EuroShop

VMSD Editor-in-Chief Patricia Sheehan will be on two programs during EuroShop, next week in Dusseldorf, Germany.

On Tuesday, February 19, she will appear at the Euro-A-Go-Go luncheon, speaking on the challenges to physical retailers from the growing influence of online shopping. She will take the audience on a tour of U.S. and international stores that speak to the theater of retail and the emotional connection with customers that fosters brand identify and loyalty.

The luncheon will occur from noon to 2 p.m. in Messe Dusseldorf, in CCD South, Room 3, second floor.

On Wednesday, February 19, Sheehan will moderate a panel with industry veterans Lee Peterson, executive vp of WD Partners, and Brian Shafley, president of Chute Gerdeman (both of Columbus, Ohio).

The topic will be “Rethinking Retail Design for Today’s Consumer,” and the presentation will be part of the EuroShop Forum on Architecture & Design, in the Messe’s Hall 10 F04, starting at 12:30 p.m.

Sheehan says the panel will address the rise of online shopping and changing demographic forces. “By creating social, open and captivating stores, retailers and store designers will create environments capable of satisfying the same emotional needs that online shopping meets,” she said. Peterson will present his firm's most recent research into the buying habits of today's shoppers,