Cutting-Edge Cool

“Welcome to Austin. Please don’t move here.”

Those provocative words are emblazoned on a sassy, popular T-shirt spotted on locals (and tourists, ironically) of the fast-growing Texas capital, and site of this year’s International Retail Design Conference, September 9-11.

When considering venues for our conference, now in its 15th year, we turn to our editorial advisory board for their expert input; Austin was a shoo-in for our annual gathering of retailers and design executives.

Beyond our standard criteria for a locale – which includes accessibility, accommodations and availability to more than 350 attendees – we look for inspiring, engaging cultural and retail attractions, a vibrant nightlife and a unique sense of place. Austin easily meets all those criteria, and more. It’s a fiercely cool, authentic and independent town, and celebrates those attributes in its campaign: “Keep Austin Weird.”

As always, this year’s IRDC attendees from across the U.S. and abroad will explore exceptional store design and visual merchandising trends from around the world while networking with peers in a city-center setting – in this case, the downtown Hilton Austin, ideally located between the city’s famous Sixth Street Entertainment District and the bungalow bar-lined Rainey Street. Two other hotspots, the Warehouse and Second Street Districts, are within walking distance, and the South Congress District is a short ride away.

Immersed in an environment that’s fostered an explosion of technology, the Maker Movement, a vibrant music scene and independent retail, not to mention the hugely popular South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival held each March, we’re bringing together an exciting lineup of speakers and session topics that complement this creative atmosphere, including a focus on the rise of “conscious consumerism” and emerging experiential retail concepts – topics that are top of mind with our select audience.

And, as always, we’ll reprise our hugely popular roundtable luncheons, the fiercely competitive Iron Merchant challenge (start warming up those glue guns) and a rousing closing night party.

For more information on IRDC 2015, and early-bird registration rates, go to irdconline.com. See you in Austin!