Energy efficiency is one of the key benefits of using LED lighting. But there are plenty of other reasons to incorporate LEDs into retail stores, Sally Lee, applications marketing manager for Osram Sylvania, told attendees at the session, “Spotlight on LED: Getting the Dirt on Rare Earth Minerals.”

Sustainability is fundamental to The Timberland Co., which has committed to reducing its environmental footprint by cutting emissions from its facilities and stores by 50%. The company has identified lighting, which accounts for a significant portion of its total energy use, as a prime source for energy reduction. In 2009, it replaced incandescent and halogen track and flood lighting in many of its stores with LED technology.


General Nutrition Centers has dramatically reduced its energy consumption while improving store aesthetics by switching to LED lamps. The chain is in the final stages of completing a retrofit of some 2,700 company-owned North American stores. 


GNC has employed a variety of lighting technologies over the years, always keeping energy consumption in mind. But it came to a point where the chain wanted an even more energy-efficient turnkey solution, one that would reduce costs and add to store appearance.