Steep Competition for A.R.E.'s Above & Beyond Award

With eight finalists, this year's Above & Beyond Awards program was the most competitive ever. The customer service award was established in 2006 by A.R.E.'s Retail Council to recognize supplier member companies that have exceeded their retail customers' expectations - and in some cases, made the impossible, possible.

This year's recipient, Impressions Marketing Group, based in Lorton, Va., is a three-time winner of the award and was nominated by Ken Chance, director of store design and construction for Total Wine & More, for the company's contributions to a new visual communication strategy for 34 stores on a very ambitious schedule.

Says Chance, "What impressed us most about Impressions' staff was their experience and expertise. They understood our thought processes. They knew what we wanted before we had to ask. They served as consultants with regards to our layouts and merchandise plans that allowed the product and signage to flow together seamlessly - and they knew how to manage the entire program from soup to nuts."

In addition to Impressions Marketing, finalists included:

• Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage - nominated by Shelley Prael, visual manager of Pendleton Woolen Mills, for supplying both antique pieces and designing wood elements with reclaimed lumber.

• The Carlson Group - nominated by Nike's Cindy Linebaugh, project manager for branded spaces for developing engineering and manufacturing options to simpify a large, complex, and complicated-toinstall fixture.

• Moz Designs Inc. - nominated by Tiffany Mosher, director of visual merchandising and store design for Marshall Retail Group, for the company's assistance in developing a signature look for prototype brand Ruby Blue.

• Pacific Northern - nominated by Brad Lenz, vice president of Juicy Couture, for the company's contributions to Juicy's ever-evolving custom fixtures, which require a high level of detail and artisan-style finishing.

• Rose Displays, last year's Above & Beyond Award winner (see the story here), nominated this year by Katie Penn, design manager for The Gap, for the company's work on a large hanging T-shirt display for more than 250 stores.

• Synsor - nominated by Tom Blanchard, senior manager for architecture at Jamba Juice, for the company's 2012 contributions to a new store prototype that reimaged the Jamba Juice brand.

• Triad Manufacturing, nominated by William Pretzel, director of design and construction for T-Mobile USA, for having helped the retailer with nearly 600 full-store remodel projects over a seven-month period in 2012.

The project details for the Total Wine & More stores can be found in A.R.E.'s April Winners Book or online at www.aredesignawards.com. Specifics on each of the company finalists and their projects will be highlighted online and in the coming issues of Retail Environments magazine.

For more information on the competition, winners, judges, awards presentation, to view photos, or download the A.R.E. Design Awards logos, visit www.aredesignawards.com.

Source: Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.)

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