Barbie Shanghai selected as Chain Store Age’s Retail Store of the Year

New York City A 36,000-sq.-ft. store located in Shanghai, China, and dedicated to one of America’s most iconic brands -- Barbie -- took top honors in Chain Store Age’s 28th annual Retail Store of the Year Design Competition.

In addition to winning the coveted Store of the Year Award, Barbie Shanghai took top honors in three individual categories -- Attraction Retailing, Cashwrap and Fitting Room -- and received an Honorable Mention in the Exterior category. 

Judges for this year’s competition included Johan Ahlqvist, director of store planning & design, David’s Bridal;  Leo Clavel, director of store planning, new concepts and prototype development, Toys “R” Us/Babies “R” Us; Patrick Dooley, VP, design and construction, Red Door Spas; John Duncan, adjunct profession, interior design, Fashion Institute of Technology; Navid Maqami, principal, GreenbergFarrow; Randall Stone, senior partner/director of customer experience and retail design, Lippincott; and Ali Van Horn, principal, Ali B Designs.

Here is a complete list of the award winners, all of which will be featured in the March 2010 issue of Chain Store Age:

• Retail Store of the Year Attraction Retailing, Cashwrap, Fitting Room, and Honorable Mention in Exterior: Barbie Shanghai (Slade Architecture; Barbie Fashion Runway -- Chute Gerdeman Retail)

• Soft Lines (less than 5,000 sq. ft.) Little Miss Matched (JGA) Honorable Mention: Opry Originals (FRCH Design Worldwide)

• Soft Lines (5,000 sq. ft. to 15,000 sq. ft.) Priscilla of Boston (David’s Bridal) Honorable Mention: Guess (Guess? Inc.)

• Soft Lines (15,000 sq. ft. to 50,000 sq. ft.): The Room (Yabu Pushelberg) Honorable Mention: Tommy Hilfiger (Callison)

• Soft Lines (50,000 sq. ft. plus): Barneys New York (Gensler)

• Hard Lines (less than 5,000 sq. ft.) McEvoy Ranch (Gensler) Honorable mention : Grand & Toy (Shikatani Lacroix Design)

• Hard Lines (15,000 sq. ft. to 50,000 sq. ft.): West Marine (Chute Gerdeman Retail)

• Supermarket (tie): Cosentino’s Market (Associated Wholesale Grocers, Design and Decor Source Group) Supermercado de Walmart (Lippincott)

• Casual Dining: Whopper Bar (Interbrand Design Forum) Honorable mention: Chi-natti’s (FRCH Design Worldwide)

• Restaurant Nisen Sushi (Horst Design International)

• Department Store Liverpool (FRCH Design Worldwide) Honorable mention: Siman (Fitzpatrick International Group)

• Discount Store: Walmart (Lippincott)

• Service: PNC Bank (Gensler) 

• Sustainability: PNC Bank (Gensler) 

• Attraction: Honorable mention: Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl (Bass Pro Shops, in-house)

• Shopping Center: The Americana at Brand (Elkus Manfredi Architects)

• Exterior: American Eagle Outfitters (American Eagle Outfitters, Tom Rectenwald Construction)

• Showroom (tie): Snaidero USA (Giorgio Boruso Design) Sub-Zero Wolf (Cecconi Simone Inc.)

• International: I to I (rkd retail/IQ)

• Pop-up: Ridemakerz (Ridemarkerz, Kick Design, Oei Design)