Eye on Retail: Stores that made the cut

The Retail Design Institute's annual store design competition, published in the July/August 2017 issue of HBSDealer's sister publication Chain Store Age, paid tribute to excellence in the retail industry. While the top award went to Mackage, the designer outerwear retailer, the following brands with home improvement credentials received honorable mention:

Pirch

New York City

Design: Fitch, Columbus, Ohio

Pirch provides a new, experiential way to buy kitchen, bath and outdoor products, with a design that combines 30 working vignettes with hands-on “labs” and expertise in a supportive, urban context. Customers can cook side by side with in-house chefs, experience showers/spa or fire up the grill. The space is designed with modern, elegant residential aesthetic that puts customers at ease.

Best Buy Tech Home

Bloomington, Minn.

Design: Chandler Inc., Afton, Minn.

Best Buy created a temporary home-like structure at Mall of America that allowed customers to view, engage with and purchase smart-tech devices and gain a greater understanding of how connected devices function in different rooms of a home. From a cedar deck with planters to a fully furnished kitchen, a comfortable and relaxing at-home feel was important to the design process. Over 40 products were featured within the 2,460-sq.-ft. structure.

Interceramic Tile & Stone Gallery

Dallas

Design: CallisonRTKL, Seattle

This 14,659-sq.-ft. showroom offers a full-service experience where customers can interact with products, view installations and work with experts to create custom interiors. Large-format tile wall panels, or “paintings,” create a studio experience, enabling the consumer to break away from conventional tile selection. Warm finishes and diverse textures serve as backdrops to highlight and complement the tile.

The annual contest honored 42 projects and was judged by a panel of retail industry experts.