Review: Retail Design Expo 2018

Now in its fourth year, the 2018 Retail Design Expo drew retailers and designers from across Europe and North America to see the latest in design, visual merchandising, architecture, and fixturing products and services. Held annually at London’s Olympia conference center, the show was co-located with the Retail Business Technology Expo and Retail Digital Signage Expo.

An expanded conference program offered a number of sessions of note, including a panel discussion on “The Impact of Digital Signage Experiences on Retail,” moderated by AVIXA Senior Director of Communications Brad Grimes. Green Room Design’s (Birmingham, U.K.) Chief Creative Officer Mike Roberts co-presented with Sue Chidler, Global Marketing Director, Cath Kidston (London), for a talk on “Emotional Payback: How Investing in Human Experiences Can Drive Commercial Success.”

VMSD Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Acevedo led a discussion titled, “What is the Future for the VM Industry,” with panelists Sarah Haynes, Visual Merchandising and Planogramming Manager, Surface and Décor, B&Q (Eastleigh, U.K.); Tim Radley, CEO, VM Unleashed (Warlingham, U.K.) and Tony Read, Managing Director and Founder, TRC (Chessington, U.K.). The session centered on the evolving role of the visual merchandiser as part of the team responsible for creating the in-store experience.

Next year’s RDE will be held May 1-2, 2019, and organizer Reed Exhibitions (Richmond, U.K.) has announced the event will move to the larger National Hall in the Olympia center. Because of the added space, exhibitors will be organized in zones for each category, including store design and lighting; experiential and point-of-purchase, marketing and visual merchandising. Shopfitting and store fixtures will be displayed on the gallery level.

For more information on RDE, please visit retaildesignexpo.com or contact rachel.marshall@reedexpo.co.uk.