Exhibitors and sponsors at Retail Design Expo and Retail Digital Signage Expo 2016 will now have the chance to enter the newly launched Innovation Trail and Awards sponsored by strategic design group 20.20.
The Innovation Trail and Awards will put ground-breaking innovations from exhibitors and sponsors in the spotlight at the co-located retail events in March 2016. An independent panel of leading retailers and brand owners will select a shortlist of sixteen outstanding products or services and the overall winner will be announced at the show.
“In the current climate of exceptional change, innovation is crucial to the success of modern multichannel retailing. The most notable innovators from the supplier sector need to be identified and given the recognition they deserve,” says Retail Design Expo show director Annie Swift.
20:20 director of retail Mariann Wenckheim said, “Customers no longer have a rational need to shop in the real world. Hence, bricks and mortar retail needs to move from being a necessity to becoming a simple convenience or an extraordinary pleasure.
“In order to thrive under these new conditions, retailers need to reinvent themselves. They have spent many years improving internal processes, but today’s customers are asking retailers to focus on them, not on the systems – a colleague’s focus has to change from stacking shelves to entertaining the customer – it’s personal. Retailers must become more extrovert, more people focused, more generous, and more innovative.
“Innovation will empower retail brands to live and breathe the values of today’s and tomorrow’s shoppers. It will help retailers bring like-minded people together. It will enable store teams to be better entertainers, better sales people, better customer advocates.
“20.20 are very pleased to sponsor the Innovation Trail and Awards at Retail Design Expo 2016 because we fundamentally believe that physical stores have an important role to play in our society, and an equally important role to play in the future.”
The Innovation Trail & Awards are only open to exhibitors and sponsors at Retail Design Expo and Retail Digital Signage Expo.
About Retail Design Expo
Retail Design Expo and Retail Digital Signagre Expo are the specialist retail events from the Legend Exhibitions stable. Co-located with RBTE, they bring together the very finest exponents of retail design, visual merchandising, branding and in-store experience, and area clear reflection of how the retail sector is responding to the increasingly discerning consumer. Showcasing solutions from designers, architects, fitters, digital signage providers and specialist contractors, they focus very clearly on innovation and inspiration in retail design, visual merchandising and branding. Retail Design Expo and Retail Digital Sigange Expo encompass additional features such as trends labs, student awards and roundtables as well as a full programme of conferences, seminars and workshops.
For more information please contact: Emma Easterbrook, Group Marketing Director, T (0) 208 874 2728; emmae@rbtexpo.com