Target named Store of the Year in annual Shop! Design Awards

A small-format Target store in Portland, Ore., was named Store of the Year at last night’s annual Shop! Awards Celebration. Also taking top honors were Roots Legends on Newbury Street in Boston for Visual Presentation of the Year, and the Samsung Experience Store in CF Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, earning Fixture of the Year.

Store of the Year winner: Target, Portland, Ore.

With a nostalgic design that pays homage to its location in a former 1950s-era bowling alley building, this small-format Target store was tailored to fit into and serve the local Powell Street neighborhood. Judges were charmed by the way Target’s design sensibility and brand were merged seamlessly into the unique environment of the neighborhood landmark.

Visual Presentation of the Year winner: Roots Legend, Newbury Street, Boston

Part interactive art exhibit and part reimagined retail; Roots Legends’ 3,250-sq.-ft. gallery-style popup on Boston’s iconic Newbury Street featured a winter wonderland holiday installation with immersive graphics and displays. Floor-to-ceiling vinyl wall graphics of a snowy forest set the scene in a leather goods vignette. Multiple elements burst the 2D images into a 3D experience.

Fixture of the Year winner: Samsung Experience Store, CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto

Inside and out at Samsung’s largest location in Canada, design elements are anchored by the idea of “infinity,” flowing harmoniously with no visible end point. The brand’s glowing technologies are displayed on custom fixtures. Like everything else in the space, the product display tables, wall display units, POS service counters, and the Personalization Zone recall the curves of Samsung products. This store also received two Element awards for Storefront/Exterior and Lighting.

“Shop! is honored to celebrate the winners of our long-standing Design Awards competition. Over the years we have had the opportunity to recognize the creative talent producing exciting retail environments. These skills not only stand the test of time, but are more important than ever to attract shoppers to brick-and-mortar retail,” said Shop! Executive Director Todd Dittman.

The Design Awards is a 48-year-old industry competition that recognizes the most creative and innovative retail store designs in the world. An independent panel of judges selected 54 finalists this year: 17 Gold, 16 Silver, and 18 Element winners as well as the top three.

The panel of judges included:

• Jo Rossman, LEED AP ID+C, Publisher/Editor, Retail Environments magazine
• Jennifer Acevedo, Editor-in-Chief, VMSD magazine
• Lola Garcia, Creative & Branding Director, ID & Design International
• Mark Johnson, President, JDG
• Jose Padron, Sr. Manager, Global Retail Design, The Hershey Company
• Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President, SLD
• Brian Sturkie, Industrial Design Director/Creative Services, E&J Gallo Winery

For full coverage of the 2019 award-winning projects, including photos, visit shopawards.org. Copies of the Retail Environments Winners Book are available in the Shop! booth (#5715) at GlobalShop@RetailX. Digital copies are available online at shopassociation.org/magazine.

During the annual celebration, Shop! also honored winners from two additional Shop! competitions: Global Awards and OMA Awards. Information is available at shopawards.org.

This year’s award sponsors included: GlobalShop@RetailX, WestRock, VMSD, Menasha, GH&A, Tarkett, Essentra, Ledconn, Data Display, Great Northern, Ryan Scott and Bish Creative