May 29, 2011

Shoptalk To Take Place At 7 W New York®

(New York, NY-) On Thursday, May 12th, A.R.E. (the Association for Retail Environments) will hold a Shoptalk at 7 W New York. The after hours event, “Stores That Inspire,” offers a visual world tour of the very best in store design and visual merchandising.

Presenting the session will be Charles Sparks, CEO of Charles Sparks + Company. Sparks, a judge in the recent A.R.E. Design Awards competition, will give attendees an in-depth look at the stores and presentations that most impressed the judges–including projects from the U.S., China, Canada, Austria, Romania and more. A panel of winning designers will share the details of their projects. Shoptalks are specifically intended for retail visual merchandisers, design and store planning professionals, and include a peer networking cocktail party followed by an information and discussion session on current retail design trends.

7 W has become a major center for the retail design world, hosting A.R.E. Shoptalks such as this, serving as headquarters for A.R.E.’s December Retail Design Collective market, and housing an increasing number of permanent visual merchandising showrooms. Proceeds from Shoptalk ticket sales will go to the Planning and Visual Education Partnership (PAVE), which supports promising design students. The event will take place in Suite 1023 from 6-9 p.m. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served at the networking reception from 6 – 7 pm, followed by the presentation at 7 p.m.

Interested parties can register at www.retailenvironments.org. Tickets are $25 before May 5th and $35 after.

7 W NEW YORK® is a wholesale mart building, catering to the buyers of Home Décor, Table Top, Giftware, Textiles, Decorative Accessories, Fine Arts and related industries. Located at 7W 34th Street, its daily hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm with extended hours during special market weeks. 7 W New York is a trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI).

MMPI is the world’s leading owner and operator of showroom buildings and trade show facilities, bringing buyers and sellers together in more than 300 market events, trade and consumer shows and conferences each year.

MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart and 350 West Mart Center in Chicago; the Architects & Designers Building, 7 W New York, and Piers 92/94 in New York City; the Boston Design Center in Boston; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; the Washington Design Center in Washington DC; and Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center in Cleveland.

VORNADO REALTY TRUST, owners of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.

About A.R.E.: The Association for Retail Environments is a Hollywood, Fla.-based non-profit trade association representing the retail environments industry. More than 600 member companies include store fixture suppliers, retail design firms, suppliers of visual merchandising products, and suppliers of materials and equipment for the retail environments industry. Member capabilities include importing, exporting, consolidating, installing, project management, engineering, design, and more.

About PAVE: Founded in 1992, The Planning and Visual Education Partnership’s (PAVE) objective is to support students studying in the fields of retail design and planning and visual merchandising through its annual Student Design Competition. PAVE also seeks to encourage retail management, store planners, visual merchandisers, architects and manufacturers to interact with and support design students. This is accomplished through projects, seminars, workshops, and the annual fundraising Gala with proceeds dedicated to educational programs and projects benefiting students. PAVE is a 501(c)(3) educational foundation administered by the Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.).