Retail design firm Miller Zell turns 50

Miller Zell, a retail design and implementation firm headquartered in Atlanta, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.



Harmon B. “Sandy” Miller founded Miller Zell in 1964 as a printing firm focused on point-of-sale promotions and fulfillment. As the retail landscape changed, Miller Zell evolved to offer comprehensive store design services aimed at improving the customer experience, while controlling implementation costs and creating greater efficiency throughout the production, storage and installation process.



In the 1970s and 1980s, the client roster grew to include Belk, Sears, Zayre, Holiday Inn, B.F. Goodrich, Goodyear, Chevron, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, A&P, Esso, Texaco and Coca-Cola. Walmart became a major client of Miller Zell in the 1990s. In recent years, the client roster has grown to include Weight Watchers, Office Depot, Metro PCS, Toys “R” Us, Publix, Kroger and Cirque Du Soleil.



“It was really how we handled Walmart that changed our business,” said Cindy Williams, president of Miller Zell. Williams took over executive management of Miller Zell in 2011, after 25 years at the firm.



In 2007, Miller Zell began a financial services division that today handles retail design and execution for Bank of America, Citizens Bank and TD Bank.



Miller Zell is marking its 50th with a reception Wednesday, March 19, at the Tropicana Hotel’s Havana Room in Las Vegas during Global Shop. Global Shop is the largest annual visual merchandising trade show and conference for the retail design industry in the U.S. The 1960s themed cocktail reception will provide a retrospective of the half century Miller Zell has spent “making the world a better place to shop.”