Retail property owners and developers are serious about creating more experiential designs. David Sheldon, VP of brand strategy at Retail Design Collaborative, says that every one of his clients is seeking advice creating future-proof retail projects. We sat down with Sheldon for an exclusive interview to talk about what his clients are requesting and how he is approaching the new retail model.
GlobeSt.com: The evolution of retail is making all of the headlines, but is it translating into the design conversations that you have with your clients?
David Sheldon: These conversations are coming up in every single discussion that we have with landlord/developer clients. They are coming up in every discussion that we have with our brand clients as well. Everyone is talking about this, and we are engaging every single time. What remains to be seen is how far a landlord or developer wants to push to make a change. We talk about the future of retail every day in our office. This is a very relevant constant dialogue. It is not rhetoric; it is very real. I would say that is anything in the evolution over the last five years has taught me anything it is that if you can match vision with the right demographic, the right tenants and the right brands, and the right contextual surroundings, you can create something that is differentiated and has longevity.
GlobeSt.com: Do you have any examples of new development projects that are focusing on the future of retail?
Sheldon: We are starting a project in the Midwest with a developer that has developed pad retail his entire career. I have a sight that is a legacy site. I have a vision, but I don't know how to get there. We have started engaging with him about the discussion of the future of retail as it relates to a Greenfield site. It is an interesting question because you have a blank slate.
GlobeSt.com: Where do you start with the design?
Sheldon: We have to start somewhere, so we start drawing. We are engaging with our clients to reach out to certain brands and tenants and talk to them about innovation. We know that customers want to experience the brand and the service, but we are asking how we go beyond the store. In this case, we are engaging with the developer and engaging with the tenants to really roll up our sleeves on the future of retail and see if we can put this to the test. That is just one example, but for every one example, we have 10 others of malls that are either failing or that are successful where the owners want to future proof the property.
GlobeSt.com: Do you have clients that are not focused on the new retail experience?
Sheldon: Any client that comes to us and says that they want to design a traditional neighborhood pad-building project today, we generally aren't working with them. We don't think it is going to survive, and those tenants aren't going to survive.
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Kelsi Maree Borland
