A.R.E. Retail Design Collective to feature inspiring showrooms and conference
sessions, the PAVE Gala, holiday windows walking tours, and more
Celebration of Retail
Design Returns to New York City
Retail store designers and visual merchandisers from around the world will head to New York City Dec. 2-4, 2015, for A.R.E.’s Retail
Design Collective.
The Collective, produced by the
Association for Retail Environments
(A.R.E.), takes place during the height of
the holiday season and is the centerpiece
for the industry’s winter market week. The
center of retail, New York City is the perfect
backdrop for a collection of visually stimulating showrooms, insightful speakers,
and the year’s most important networking
events.
Retail and brand consultant Kate
Newlin, author of Shopportunity! and principal of Kate Newlin Consulting, will kick
off the conference program Dec. 2 with a
look at how to elevate the retail experience
to one of shopping enchantment.
Michelle Adams, founder of Marketing
Brainology, will talk about NeuroMarketing
and how visual merchandisers can better
connect with shoppers on an emotional
level through merchandising, signage, and
other visual stimuli. Design firm GH+A
will wrap up the week with a unique look at
food and fashion and how high-end retail-
ers are incorporating culinary fare into
their spaces.
New York City in December is a feast for
the creative mind: flagship retail, fabulous
design, and the most stunning holiday
display windows anywhere in the world. If
ever there was a time to come to New York
for inspiration, it’s this week.
On the first night of the Collective is the
PAVE Gala, the industry’s most important
networking event of the year. More than
800 retail design leaders attend the Gala,
set for Dec. 2 at Cipriani on Wall Street.
This sellout event raises money for students
of visual merchandising and store design.
The Collective’s headquarters at the
Metropolitan Pavilion will feature a concentration of popup showrooms and
sponsor areas and will house the daily conference sessions. Its location in the heart
of Chelsea is within walking distance to
participating permanent showrooms
and popular retail.
The week’s events are designed so attend-ees can enjoy the entire city holiday vibe
in just a few days away from the office
while gathering inspiration to springboard
into 2016.
Discounted rates are available to attend-ees at local hotels, and a free Windows Wear
retail walking tour will be offered while
space is available. For more information
regarding showrooms, conference sessions,
hotels, and the latest event information,
visit retaildesigncollective.com.
Retail to see while in town
In an ever-changing city like Manhattan,
there is constant retail turnover—
closings, openings, renovations, you name it,
the retail face of the city is constantly being
made over. 2015 saw dozens of new stores
and projects enter the marketplace from
Brookfield Place in the Financial District
to trendy boutiques on the Upper East Side.
Here are a few new and notable stores and
brands making their New York City debut
and in some cases, their first venture into
the U.S. market.