NASFM Retail Design Awards 2002

Winners of the annual NASFM Retail Design Awards – announced during GlobalShop in April – ranged from the adidas Cabazon Outlet and its versatile modular fixture system to Disney's Zawadi Marketplace and its one-of-a-kind African motif.

Store of the Year honors went to the Toys “R” Us flagship store in Times Square, New York (see “Where The Toys Are,” April 2002, page 24), a project by Gensler Architecture, Design & Planning Worldwide (San Francisco) and J. Newbold Associates Inc. (New York). “Toys 'R'Us really raised the bar on big-box design with this one,” the NASFM judges noted. “The store is a 'wow'experience that showcases a broad range of toys in a fun, friendly, service-oriented environment.”

In all, judges awarded 17 Grand Prizes and 22 Outstanding Merit awards for design. The judges also chose a Fixture of the Year and 18 Special Merits for Outstanding Store Fixtures. (Details on the fixture awards will appear in the June issue of VM+SD, which will also include comprehensive coverage and analysis of the fixture industry.)

Judges for the competition were: Judy Bell, corporate manager of innovation at Target (Minneapolis); Denny Gerdeman, principal, Chute Gerdeman (Columbus, Ohio); Tony Mancini, senior vp-global retail store development, Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.); Terri Roberts, manager-casework, Starbucks Coffee Co. (Seattle); Kathleen Socha, president/design director, Phase One Design Services Inc. (Atlanta); RoxAnna Sway, editor, Display & Design Ideas (Atlanta); Marianne Wilson, senior editor, Chain Store Age (New York); and Carole Winters, associate publisher, VM+SD (Cincinnati).

The competition is sponsored by the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers. A complete list of winners can be found on the organization's web site, www.nasfm.org. For information on next year's competition, contact Karen Doodeman at 954-893-7300; fax: 954-893-7500.