Shop! Association

Great to have Jeff Arps repping WD at Shop! Association Portland’s event last week — right in his home base! It was a small, candid gathering of the local creative and retail community, with highlights hearing from Matt Kelly, Gail Cummings Andersen (she/her), and Helen Herrick. A few takeaways that stuck with Jeff: 🌎 Localization is winning. Culture and creative energy are increasingly coming out of small-to-mid markets, not just the flagship cities, and brands are having to meet consumers where they are. 🔄 This industry is cyclical by nature. The partners who last aren't the ones chasing every trend — they're the ones who understand the long game and stay the course through the ups and downs. 🧩 Know the whole ecosystem. The most successful vendors don't just excel at their one lane. They understand the upstream and downstream of the business around them, even if they never touch it directly. Grateful for events like this that bring Portland's tight-knit creative community together to trade notes and sharpen perspective. Thanks for having us!

Recipient an as-yet-unnamed “national specialty retailer.”

From Baseline to Action: A Practical Sustainability Series by Path Zero View the high-resolution PDF here.

FIFA games drove a nearly 20% surge in cross-border transactions in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., Visa finds.

What can happen when a student is given the chance to see an industry up close? For Adrianna Kimmitt, a PAVE Global competition led to a new interest in 3D design. A PAVE Scholarship + Experience introduced her to the full point-of-purchase process at BISH. Another PAVE opportunity brought her to Shop! Association Marketplace, where the relationships she had built helped lead to the beginning of her career. Today, Adrianna is completing her degree while working at BISH and preparing to expand her skills into 3D display design. Her journey is a powerful example of what can happen when students have access to mentorship, real-world experiences, and people willing to open a door. Read Adrianna’s story, written by Jo Rossman, LEED AP IDC: https://lnkd.in/eSCqWCGF 🫶 Thank you to BISH, Shop! Association, and everyone who helped mentor, inspire, and connect Adrianna along the way. Pictured: Adrianna Kimmitt stands with members of the BISH team beside a large Hendrick’s Gin point-of-purchase display. From left are Roy Mok, Kim Killan, Rich Szromba, Jerry Fox, and Adrianna Kimmitt. #PAVEGlobal #StudentSuccess #Mentorship #RetailDesign #PointOfPurchase

Jeff Hastings of VCI Displays and Amanda Lopes of Barnes & Noble will coach Team 2 during the 2026 Retail Challenge, helping participants transform ideas into an impactful concept for this year's featured brand, Boll & Branch! Don't miss your opportunity to collaborate, learn, and be part of the Retail Challenge. Register today for your chance to join a team: shop-ideation.com

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Let's Talk Shop! Live in Portland! 🎉 It was a great evening of connecting with new and familiar industry colleagues, hearing fresh perspectives from local retail design experts, and enjoying great food and drinks together. A special thank you to Dynamic Resources for hosting this event, and to our supporters Triad Manufacturing, Visual Creations/Rose Displays, VMSD, PAVE Global, and the Retail Design Institute for helping make it all possible!

HIGH-END, LOS ANGELES-BASED FASHION brand H.Lorenzo recently opened its new flagship boutique in Los Angeles’ West Hollywood. The 9,000-square-foot flagship houses the brand’s womenswear and menswear collections. Designed by Italian design agency...

A little reminder - next week I'll be joining Shop! Association to host a virtual masterclass on Human by Design: The New Playbook for Retail Experience. We'll explore why, as AI and convenience continue to accelerate, the future of retail will be defined by something much more human. I'll be sharing insights from our latest HumanX research, looking at the behavioural shifts shaping store design and how brands can create experiences people genuinely want to leave home for. If you work in retail, design, brand or customer experience, I'd love for you to join the conversation. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ez4iJqSA