In October 2010 I embarked on a study tour to Toronto, New York and Los Angeles.
Retail in Australia lags behind major international shopping precincts and we need to improve the standard by exposing visual merchandisers to cutting edge practices.
Westfield is due to open its global flagship shopping centre in Sydney’s CBD and at recent industry events held in Sydney, International visual merchandising consultants stated that retailers need to invest more in creating “experience centres” which should be high-touch, hightech and designed to create comment.
With the advent of online retailing retailers must improve their shoppers’ experience; otherwise there will be no need to visit stores. To do this, retailers need to reinvest in visual merchandising.
A large number of international retailers are coming to Australia and bringing with them new levels of retail design and visual merchandising principles.
As educators we need to be delivering current international visual merchandising knowledge, trends and skills.
During this study tour I
1.
attended the IRDC (International Retail Design Conference) in Toronto, Canada. This is the premier educational and networking event for the store design and visual merchandising community drawing 250 plus attendees from the US and abroad.
Presented annually by VMSD magazine this unique conference provides three days of dialogue centred on best practices, evolving trends and smart strategies;
2.
met with college and university staff in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles delivering
Visual Merchandising diplomas to understand their teaching environments, curriculum content and delivery. I accessed the curriculum content for the Bachelor qualification
(being delivered in New York) that is in line with TAFE’S vision to deliver higher level qualifications; and
3.
met with in-store visual merchandising management and staff at department stores and specialty retailers in home wares and fashion. These visits were to evaluate skill sets and roles of visual merchandisers in the US and to update my skills and knowledge.
The three categories I will present my findings in are:
 IRDC Conference
 Training providers
 Retailers

Presented by VMSD magazine, this 10 th annual International Retail Design Conference was held in Toronto. It offered opportunities to network with decision makers from every facet of retail design; gain insight from industry experts; and take away a wealth of ideas, contacts and a renewed sense of passion for visual merchandising.
I attended the following sessions:
1.
A reception hosted by “Seven Continents”, a visual merchandising company. The evening was used to showcase its showrooms, products and factory and offered great networking opportunities for conference attendees, visual merchandisers and store planners from the greater Toronto area.
2.
Keynote address delivered by Bonnie Brooks President and CEO “The Bay” – “Reinvention of an icon”
The department store “The Bay” is a Canadian icon and Bonnie has instituted bold moves to keep the brand excelling despite the global recession. She spoke on the brand’s historical evolution and the key role visual merchandising plays in its strategy extending an invitation to the recently opened “White Room” at The Bay to showcase its new direction.
3.
”Making the local connection” – Joe Baer, ZenGenius Visual Merchants, Ohio
“Buy Locally” is a powerful cry today. Smart visual merchandising helps retailers support a community friendly message and tap into the local spirit with ideas and great displays that make shopping a truly neighbourhood experience. Joe presented examples of retailers achieving this.
4.
Networking roundtable discussions
Chaired by Eric Feigenbaum, the discussion was centred on returning to the visual merchandising craft and how the retailer “Anthropology” was successfully leading the way.
5.
“Iron Merchant challenge” – Joe Baer, ZenGenius Visual Merchants, Ohio
Teams of IRDC attendees competed in a fun visual merchandising contest to create a unique creative display in one hour to support local community group against child abuse
“Boost”. Attendee votes determined the best of show, and the winning team got their moment to shine on the last morning of the conference, and bragging rights for a full year.

6.
“Visual Merchandising Symposium” – Eric Feigenbaum, Chair LIM College, Tom Beebe, Creative
Consultant, James Damian, Senior VP Enterprise Design Group Best Buy, Paul Olszewski, Director of Windows Macys
Four of the most innovative and creative minds in visual merchandising discussed their current trends and strategies of recent works and displays.
7.
“New Concept Nordstrom store in Santa Monica” – Sonya Parra, Senior design planner Nordstrom,
Tony Carcone, Director of Sales Seven Continents
Seven continents were challenged to create cohesion between departments in a new concept store for Nordstrom in Santa Monica, using visual elements. Tony talked about strategising with Nordstrom designing new visual elements using unique, innovative materials and specialised manufacturing.
8.
“Tech-Enabled Store Design; Do’s and Don’ts – Jim Crawford, Executive Director Global Retail
Executive Council
The tools and technologies springing up to enhance the shopping experience are phenomenal. With few retailers using these tools effectively, Jim spoke about doing it well and how to approach tech -enabled design from a shopper’s perspective.
We toured
Toronto’s main shopping precinct that afternoon and Jim demonstrated an application on the “i Phone” that reads QR codes. A QR Code is a specific matrix barcode readable by camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
A QR code
9.
“The full Spectrum of Green Design Today” – Lori Kolthoff, Director FRCH Design Worldwide,
Kevin O’Donnell, Fundamentalist Thread Collaborative, Jo Rossman, Manager Sustainability and
Design programs A.R.E.
Green retailing continues to flourish. They discussed strategies behind award winning sustainable store designs and the latest eco friendly materials and products, together with ideas for greening the decorative end of retail through window and visual displays.
10.
“Ask the Experts; Department Stores” – Richard Hamori, GM Store planning/Design Hudson’s
Bay Company, Dave Lindsey, Corporate VP Store Planning Nordstrom, Tracey Peters, National
Visual Manager Holt Renfrew
Department stores are going through radical changes to stay competitive. This panel discussed current challenges, changes and expectations.
11.
“Awards Presentation”
The winners of the VMSD’s International competition and renovation competition were announced. Winning team in the “Iron Merchant Challenge” was also announced:
“Forever 21” Retailer of the year, Larry Meyer, Executive Vice President. Larry Meyer

spoke about the success of “Forever 21” and accepted the award. Most other specialty retailers are currently retrenching; however “Forever 21” is planning new stores throughout the world. He showed images of its most successful stores, including the flagship Times Square store and its digital interactive screen.
12.
Closing Keynote
“Glocalization” The challenge brewing at Starbucks Coffee Company, Tim Pfeiffer, SR
VP Global Design. Starbucks is reacting to the marketplace. Tim spoke about its new store designs, some de-branded locations and a commitment to have all new company owned stores “LEED” certified (an internationally recognised green building certification system) starting in 2010.
Seneca is a provincial community college providing a post secondary education alternative for students not wanting or not able to attend university.
 Seneca has eight campuses across the greater Toronto area. The campus I visited was
Newham campus in the western suburbs of Toronto.
 The course is delivered full time over 4 semesters with a similar fee structure to
TAFENSW.
 60 percent of students are international students, mainly from Asia, with class sizes of 30 students with two staff.
 Applicants sit a skills test and questionnaire. The test result with their academic achievement provides the basis of their selection.
 Seneca has formal articulation arrangements with universities across Canada in Honours
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Professional Arts in
Communication Studies and Bachelor of Applied Management.
 About 12 students graduate per year from the course with about half going on to further education, the remainder gaining employment in the retail sector.
The Visual Merchandising Diploma program teaches students design and display techniques to create effective visual presentations that support retail sales.
Thirteen units of their course align closely with units delivered in the TAFENSW curriculum with College English and General Education as additional units.

I met with the program chair, Gitte Hanson and observed two part time teachers and program co-ordinator David McDermid in class, viewing their teaching style. Afterwards, I spent time with David mapping curriculum, course delivery, assessment criteria, marking guidelines and scales, viewing samples of students work as well as viewing the teaching environment and inspirational, modern facilities.
There appeared to be little personalised teaching performed by the staff.
The Fashion Institute of Technology is New York City’s internationally recognised college for design, fashion, art, communications and business.
FIT is part of The State University of New York (SUNY) and
 it delivers a Visual Presentation and Exhibition design diploma program similar to the course available through TAFENSW;
 the program is delivered to full time students over four semesters;
 during the summer vacation units are run as short courses and are studied part time;
 the Dean announced during my visit that SUNY had just received approval to run the
Bachelor Visual Merchandising course;
 class sizes are 18:1. This college appeared to have dated decor, was in need of a coat of paint and freshening up but had good computer facilities;
 most students enter study at FIT straight from school but many have completed minor courses through FIT while attending school;
 Approximately 40 percent of students are from Japan;
 tuition fees are double those of TAFENSW for an equivalent qualification;
 the course has articulation arrangements into Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Advertising and Marketing.
The Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design Program teach techniques in visual merchandising. Nine units of their course align closely with units delivered in the TAFENSW curriculum. Of the 69 units of study required to complete this qualification students must complete 24 units of liberal studies and two units of Health/PE.
I met with lecturers Brenda Cowan, Ann Kong, Elizabeth Jacobson, Reginald Keith Rogers and
Lawrence Langham. The staff spoke in depth on the units they taught and produced samples of students work.
I was taken for a tour of the campus, through the studios then through the computer lab to view students working on their concepts for the PAVE (The Planning and Visual Education
Partnership) competition. I was shown the 2009 PAVE submissions. PAVE encourages students to study in the field of retail design, planning and visual merchandising by running international competitions annually offering scholarships to students. In 2011 TAFENSW students will be invited to compete.

Students had 4 windows to work on in their studio area and about 20 showcases spread across the campus.
This college was graphic design based and I felt there was too much emphasis on digital imaging.
(Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) is a private co-educational college in midtown
Manhattan.
LIM
 has four campuses in midtown Manhattan and one residential hall;
 educates and prepares students in the business of Fashion Merchandising, Visual
Merchandising, Marketing and Management;
 delivers a Visual Merchandising Bachelor of Business Administration degree (BBA). This course is delivered full time over 4 years (8 semesters;
 charges a tutorial fee of US$20,000 per year for this qualification;
 offers students the opportunity to study at European or Asian universities and participate in student exchange programs;
 requires students of all courses to complete the Introduction to Visual Merchandising course to gain an understanding of basic store layouts and retail design concepts;
 has a very strong industry alliance;
 is located in an exceptional environment with well equipped studio facilities, access to the latest visual merchandising computer programs and the only fully stocked materials samples library in New York.
The Visual Merchandising Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree teaches students the principles, philosophies and technologies of visual merchandising through first-hand exploration of the marketplace and hands-on classroom experimentation, using the latest software.
Ten units align closely with units delivered in the TAFENSW curriculum. Additional units include Public Speaking, Fashion, Marketing, College Algebra, Accounting, Spread sheets,
Management, Professional Communication, Writing topics, International retailing, Statistics,
Ethics, Consumer Behaviour, Economics, Buying, Finance and Organisational Behavioural and
Leadership Skills.
I met with Eric Feigenbaum, Visual Merchandising Chairperson and Marjorie Lee Woo,
Associate Chair. Eric is on the board of PAVE and discussed the program with me and invited our students to compete commencing 2011; he also writes for VMSD magazine and advised me on “must see” retailers in New York. They spent time explaining the complexities of the
Bachelor course and mapping our course to it, showing samples of students work, their facilities, students in class and their samples room.
Their facilities were fabulous; however they did not have many on-site window spaces but they did have access to a window space on 5 th Avenue for students’ use.

This is an in-depth course preparing students for the management level of Visual Merchandising and would be a worthwhile qualification to introduce into TAFENSW.
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising is a specialized, private college dedicated to educating students for the Fashion, Graphics, Interior Design, and Entertainment Industries.
FIDM
 is a place where creativity and careers merge. They are hands-on and industry focused;
 has focused curriculum, talented faculty, and a global network of industry partners to give students the necessary skills to work simultaneously while earning their degree;
 has four campuses spread across California;
 delivers an Associate of Arts Professional Designation (A.A.) program over 2 years full time;
 charges a tutorial fee of US$27,000. per year for this qualification.
In the program students learn the skills to:
 coordinate and style a range of projects;
 produce sketches and floor plans;
 research and analyze trends;
 apply knowledge of color and design to convey a visual message;
 create visual windows for stores and exhibits;
 utilize industry-related technology;
 organise and lead a team.
Thirteen units of study align closely with units delivered in the TAFENSW curriculum.
Additional units in this qualification include Professional Practices, Marketing & Brand
Development, Visual Communications and Presentation.
Their facilities were modern, spacious, clean and well equipped.
In New York and Los Angeles I met with visual merchandisers in department stores, specialty retailers, high end fashion retailers and shopping centres or if it was not possible to meet with the staff, I made visits to the stores.
Department stores included: Macy’s Herald Square, Lord and Taylor, Holt Renfrew, Bergdorf
Goodman, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Barney’s and The Bay.
Specialty Retailers included: Anthropologie, Toys R Us, Zara, Sephora, All Saints, Tiffany & Co,
FAO Schwarz, Victoria’s Secret, Diesel, New Era, Zegna, Old Navy, Nike, BCBGMARA, Muji,
Kenneth Cole, Juicy Couture, Pottery Barn, Disney Store, CB2, Love Culture, American Girl,
Gant, NBA, H&M, Crate and Barrel.

Shopping centres included: Santa Monica Place, Rodeo Drive, The Grove, Westfield Century
City, Chelsea Market, Venice Beach, and Limelight Market Place.
High-end fashion retailers: Cole Haan, Dolce and Gabanna, Lanvin, Escada, Hermes, Armani,
Versace, Dior, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Prada and Fendi.
Through these meetings and visits it became obvious that
 retail management values the link between strong visual merchandising presence and increased sales;
 visual merchandising staff numbers are high in stores to implement this presence;
 visual merchandisers are responsible for tracking the sales performance of stock used in displays and make adjustments with non-performing product;
 retailers understand that window displays are the silent seller and draw customers into the store;
 retailers use window displays not only to sell product but to support charities, make political statements and to create an experience for the shopper to admire;
 large floor space areas are dedicated to in-store displays;
 strong branding and attention to detail are evident in retail stores;
 sale or clearance signage and stock is minimal with a strong emphasis on stories or themes;
 customer service is of the highest calibre with staff priding themselves on the store brand
 most retail stores have clear wide aisles;
 retailers are returning to the art of visual merchandising and are re-visiting craft inspired displays by supporting creativity;
 visual merchandisers are paid well and there is strong competition to gain employment;
 visual merchandising Qualifications are held in high regard by retailers;
 visual merchandisers understand the business side of retailing;
 mannequins in window displays are supported by wire called “striking the mannequin” not displayed on stands in the usual manner.

Smart retailers are moving to create “shopping experiences”.
Creating an environment for shoppers to spend time by offering activities that suit their demographic allows the customer to feel comfortable and spend time in-store offering further exposure and effectively increasing sales.
Stores offering a “shopping experience” had customers queuing on the street and included
Abercrombie and Fitch, Toys R Us, NBA, Nike and American Girl just to name a few.
I now understand why visiting international consultants made critical statements on visual merchandising in Australia.
Australian retailers need to
 invite visual merchandisers to the boardroom table to gain an understanding of the company business;
 address the importance of offering customers “retail experiences” to entice them instore, generating strong retail sales and undermining online retail sales;
 implement a “retail experience” incorporating the five senses sight, smell, touch taste and sound;
 understand that a good window display is the silent seller and can directly drive customer traffic in-store;
 raise the level of customer service in-store;
 offer strong branding to encourage customer loyalty;
 allow creativity to be incorporated into displays and product styling;
 move away from the “cookie cutter” store and introduce concepts into store design relating to the community in which they are located;
 employ higher numbers of visual merchandisers within stores;
 employ staff with visual merchandising qualifications to utilise their knowledge and skills.
 encourage staff to remain current with international trends and skill sets.
Further information is available on my WIKI at http://visual-merchandising-trends.sydneyinstitute.wikispaces.net