Agenda

NETWORKING BREAKFAST

Rise and shine—IRDC style. Join us for the Networking Breakfast and kick off Day One with good food, strong coffee, and energizing conversation with peers from across the retail design community. Open to all attendees. Just show up hungry and ready to connect.

OPENING KEYNOTE: YOU BUILT THE WINDOW. NOW WHAT?

Retailers have never invested more in store design, windows and brand experience than they are today. And yet, sales floors have never been more demoralized. Associates are heads-down on phones, managers are running checklists, and customers are leaving to buy the same brands on resale sites - because they want the product but not the experience. This keynote session connects what visual merchandisers and store designers spend months building to the moment it either pays off or collapses: the associate-customer interaction. Using real examples from Bloomingdale's, Foot Locker, and brands across three continents, Bob Phibbs shows why the most spectacular windows in retail history are being undermined by a sales floor problem nobody wants to name – and what your team can do about it.

Takeaways:

• Understand the true importance of the full in-store experience

• Discover how the associate-customer interaction impacts the consumer experience

• Learn how to adapt new experience strategies to your own brand or store

LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: CASE STUDY

Go beyond the finished project and explore the story behind it. Through a real-world case study, you'll learn about the challenge, the strategy, the obstacles encountered, and the solutions that brought the vision to life. Walk away with practical ideas and lessons you can apply to your own projects.

SENSE ABILITY: THE UNTAPPED ADVANTAGE HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Retail spaces are full of sensory stimulation and a lot of it is unintentional. It has been this way for a long time, but that does not mean it has to stay that way. Meg Lefeld, Director at ZenGenius, has spent her career in the world of visual merchandising. When a traumatic brain injury in 2022 changed the way she experienced the retail spaces she had always loved, she started asking a question she couldn't shake: why? That question led her to start researching how the brain processes sensory information and a deeper look at the sensory demands retail places on every shopper, whether they realize it or not. In this general session, Meg will share what she has learned, what she is still learning and why it matters to everyone who contributes to retail environments. Through emerging research, real-world examples and practical strategies, attendees will discover how thoughtful sensory design can reduce unnecessary cognitive load, improve the customer experience and become a competitive advantage. Fair warning: you'll never walk into a store the same way again.

Takeaways:

• Discover how sensory stimulation impacts the shopping experience

• Learn how people experience sensory input differently in stores

• Understand the importance of designing with all customers in mind

HERITAGE TO HERE AND NOW: DESIGNING THE L.L.BEAN FLAGSHIP REMODEL AS A BRAND EXPERIENCE

As retail continues to evolve beyond transactional spaces, flagship environments are being redefined as brand infrastructure: places where heritage, community and customer experience intersect. This session will explore how the Freeport Experience – the multi-year reimagining of L.L.Bean’s iconic Freeport Flagship – is designed not simply as a remodel, but as a campus-scale, customer-centric journey that honors legacy while building relevance for the future. Drawing inspiration from hospitality and placemaking, the session will also examine how outdoor space, food, events and community interfaces can transform a flagship from a “big store” into a destination. Attend this presentation to discover how to protect customer trust and brand experience during disruption.

Takeaways:

• Understand how flagships are sequenced customer journeys, not a collection of departments

• Learn ways to translate heritage into modern, experiential storytelling

• Discover strategies for using placemaking and hospitality principles to expand relevance

VMSD AWARDS LUNCHEON

Join us for a celebratory luncheon recognizing the winners of VMSD's 2026 competitions and industry awards. During this special event, we'll honor the recipients of the Designer Dozen, International Visual Competition, Retail Renovation Competition, and the prestigious VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year Award while celebrating excellence across the retail design and visual merchandising community.

KEEP THE VISION. RETHINK THE PATH. | THE ART OF CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING IN RETAIL

Every retail project encounters constraints, but the best solutions often emerge from them. When Framebridge's leadership challenged the team to reduce the cost of its signature ceiling truss by at least 15 percent or eliminate the feature entirely from future stores, preserving the brand's design identity became the priority. In this session, attendees will discover how Framebridge and Gilson collaborated to rethink the problem rather than compromise the vision. By developing a value-engineered alternative, the team not only exceeded the required cost savings but also unlocked new operational efficiencies and design advantages. Learn how strategic collaboration, creative problem solving and thoughtful engineering can transform budget pressures into opportunities for innovation, without sacrificing the elements that define a brand experience.

Sponsored Session: Gilson

Takeaways:

• Discover new ways of approaching challenges without compromising a brand’s identity

• Learn the importance of strategic collaboration for creative problem solving

• Understand how thoughtful engineering can transform pressures into innovation

THE EXPERIENCE PARADOX

Convenience no longer means simply getting customers in and out faster. Today's shoppers expect stores to deliver speed and inspiration, efficiency and personalization, digital ease and human connection – all within the same visit. In this session, attendees will explore how leading retailers are redefining the remodel by embracing these seemingly contradictory expectations instead of choosing between them. Discover the strategies, design principles and operational innovations that allow physical spaces to flex with changing consumer needs while remaining true to the brand. Through real-world examples and practical insights, learn how today's most successful remodels create adaptable environments that balance competing demands, elevate the customer experience and position stores to thrive in an increasingly complex retail landscape.

Sponsored Session: Imagine

Takeaways:

• Understand the various layers of an effective remodel, from personalization to human connection

• Learn how physical spaces achieve ultimate flexibility with changing consumer expectations

• Discover strategies that can be applied to your own brand

VMSD OFFSITE INSPIRATION TOUR: LAS VEGAS ARTS DISTRICT TOUR, HOSTED BY HANS BOODT

For this unique excursion, attendees will be invited to take a guided tour of the Las Vegas Arts District. Take in the sights and sounds of this unique area: A cultural hub filled with indie art galleries, shops and bars, set against the backdrop of a bohemian vibe. Hosted and sponsored by IRDC's City Host sponsor, Hans Boodt, attendees will also get to view the company's latest Las Vegas showroom experience. Wear comfy shoes and get ready to explore a part of Vegas you didn't know existed!

SPONSORED BY:

IRON MERCHANT CHALLENGE RECEPTION

NETWORKING BREAKFAST

LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: CASE STUDY

Start your morning with breakfast and coffee while taking a behind-the-scenes look at a real-world retail project. Learn directly from the team behind a featured project as they share the journey from concept to completion. Discover how they approached complex challenges, balanced competing priorities, collaborated across disciplines, and delivered measurable results.

ONE GLOBAL MOMENT, MANY RETAIL EXPERIENCES: BRINGING THE WORLD CUP TO LIFE WITH ADIDAS

Major global sporting moments create extraordinary opportunities, and equally complex retail challenges. This session will go behind the scenes of adidas’ recent World Cup activations, revealing how a shared creative vision was translated into compelling experiences across multiple retailers, store formats and levels of scale. From oversized dimensional icons and immersive storytelling to flexible, repeatable fixture systems, the presentation will explore how design, development, engineering, production and installation worked together from the earliest concepts through final execution. Attend this presentation to discover how strong partnerships, integrated problem-solving and scalable design thinking can transform a single global campaign into distinctive retail experiences that build anticipation, invite participation and bring fans closer to the game.

Sponsored Session: The Bernard Group

Takeaways:

• Understand how to translate one global campaign into various cohesive experiences

• Discover the importance of collaboration between brand, design, engineering and production

•Learn strategies for balancing bold experiential moments with scalability and budget

LESSONS FROM THE FIELD: CASE STUDY

Wrap up breakfast with one final project spotlight as we explore how bold ideas became successful outcomes. Learn how the project team balanced creativity, collaboration, and business objectives while navigating unexpected challenges. Gain fresh inspiration and practical insights you can bring back to your own projects.

SAME CONTINENT, DIFFERENT PLAYBOOK

Expanding from the U.S. into Canada may seem like a natural next step for many retailers, but success is far from guaranteed. Though the two markets share many similarities, the retailers that thrive understand that crossing the border requires far more than replicating a proven formula. This panel will examine why some brands have flourished while others have stumbled, exploring the critical roles of geography, real estate strategy, operational execution and cultural nuance. Through real-world examples, attendees will uncover the practical adjustments that separate successful cross-border expansion from costly missteps and leave with a clearer understanding of how to tailor retail strategies for long-term success in the Canadian market.

Takeaways:

• Understand the importance of localization over replication

• Discover the importance of scale vs. strategic focus

• Learn how culture drives performance

BREWING IDEAS: A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH NESPRESSO

Nespresso’s newest global flagship in New York's Flatiron is more than a retail store; it’s a destination designed to immerse consumers in the brand through hospitality, storytelling and sensory experiences. In this fireside chat, Nespresso’s, Susanna Forteleoni will sit down with MBH Architects’ Cynthia Ortiz, to share the thinking behind the flagship’s development, from translating a global brand into a local retail experience and creating an environment that invites customers to discover, taste and connect. Attend this session to explore how experiential design, thoughtful merchandising and a customer-centric strategy came together to strengthen brand loyalty, while gaining insight into the retail innovations shaping the future of one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Takeaways:

• Discover how hospitality is intersecting with retail experiences

• Understand how a global brand communicates with customers on a personal level

• See how design supports an engaging in-store experience and how you can apply that to your own brand

INFLUENCERS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND RETAIL: THE FUTURE OF CONNECTION

Social media may be powered by algorithms, screens and rapidly evolving technology, but the content that resonates most deeply often taps into something far more human: memory, emotion and a desire to belong. As nostalgia continues to shape viral content to brand experiences, creators are finding new ways to use digital platforms to make audiences feel seen, heard and connected. Join this panel discussion to examine how authenticity, shared memories and personal storytelling can turn passive audiences into engaged communities, and how those same principles could translate to physical retail environments. While stores embrace more digital tools, AI and automation, the panel will also consider where technology enhances connection, and where consumers simply want to feel a human connection.

Takeaways:

• Discover the importance of human connection

• Understand the strategies to building a community

• Get inspired by social media creativity and see how that translates to stores

MORE PANELISTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

IRON MERCHANT CHALLENGE WINNER UNVEILING

The votes are in! Discover which team takes the title in the 20th annual Iron Merchant Challenge as we celebrate two decades of this iconic IRDC tradition.

OFFSITE EXPERIENCE: AREA15

Take the afternoon of the second day of IRDC, prior to our closing keynote session, and explore Area 15. This multi-building complex, spanning 35 acres, houses interactive experiences, dining, exhibitions, art installations, retail stores, games and one-of-a-kind activations like Meow Wolf's OmegaMart. (The Museum of Ice Cream launched its latest attraction here in July.) Attendees will get to spend an afternoon learning about the site's design, straight from the people who created it, and explore the compound. Wear your most comfortable shoes and get ready for an afternoon of discovery.

SPONSORED BY:

        

CLOSING KEYNOTE: HANGING BY A THREAD

In this deeply personal and emotionally resonant keynote, attendees will explore resilience, uncertainty, transition, identity, and the reality that our personal and professional lives are but a single interconnected thread. Drawing from Bevan’s own journey through leadership, change, pressure, reinvention and moments of vulnerability, the keynote examines what happens when life stretches us beyond certainty and how support, trust and human connection can help hold us up during those moments. At a time when so many individuals and industries are navigating pressure, disruption, burnout and change, the keynote challenges audiences to consider how we show up for one another and why lifting each other up matters now more than ever. Through powerful participatory experiences, including moments where audiences physically and emotionally lift others up together, this closing keynote will transform the idea of support and connection into lived experience.

Takeaways:

• Discover how our personal and professional lives are interconnected

• Learn how support, trust and connection can help during moments of uncertainty

• Understand how to physically and emotionally lift one another, creating connection

CLOSING PARTY

Raise a glass to another successful IRDC! Join us for an evening of celebration, great conversations, and memorable moments as we wrap up two inspiring days together. Additional details, including the offsite venue, will be announced soon.