The Creative Retail Awards crown the very best in retail, leisure and hospitality design at their 2024 Awards. Brands as diverse as EE, Charlotte Tilbury, B&Q, Meta and Coach took coveted prizes.
At a crucial time for the industry, The Creative Retail Awards is the ultimate celebration of innovation and excellence in retail, leisure and hospitality design. It allows retailers and creatives from around the world to compete for glory in a range of categories, culminating in a glittering awards presentation in London, a global hub for the creative industries.
After a hard-fought judging process, the EE Studio at Westfield took the Store Design of the Year category, while YourStudio was named Design Agency of the Year. Woolworths South Africa were named as winner of the Judges’ Choice Award, crowning their multi-year Award streak. The Judges had praised the work Woolworths does with local South African communities, with which the company collaborates on many of its windows.
Christan Boshoff, Woolworths Creative Director explains: “We always aim for our Christmas windows to be more than just beautiful, commercially successful displays. With this project, we meaningfully reached out and gave back to our local communities. It’s a true honour to be recognised on a global stage with the Judges’ Choice award.”
YourStudio was delighted to be crowned the Design Agency of the Year in the category’s inaugural year. Holly Simpson, Chief Operating Officer at YourStudio commented: “YourStudio is incredibly proud to be the first design agency awarded Design Agency of the Year at The Creative Retail Awards. We’re thrilled to receive this honour, recognising our growth over the years as we expand to our new LA outpost. The award is a testament to all our amazing team and our incredible clients who allow us to create pioneering, industry-first experiences recognised around the world.”
Seen Studios was awarded Highly Commended in the category.
Another new Award for 2024 was the SDD Concept of the Year via public vote. Chosen from the top 10 concepts of 2023 from Shop Drop Daily, the public voted through a system on the Awards website with the winner, ZARA Barbieland Immersive Pop-Up, receiving the highest number of votes.
The Judges of the Awards were enthused by the calibre of the entries in 2024. “It’s great to see that, despite the disruption of Covid, the strain of inflation and the pressure of a cost-of-living crisis, designers are still knocking it out of the park when it comes to creating creative retail that can stop you in your tracks,” says design and marketing journalist Matthew Valentine, a member of this year’s Judging panel.
Organised by the Shop & Display Equipment Association (SDEA) in conjunction with 365 Retail, the Creative Retail Awards has become a much-anticipated fixture in the industry calendar.
Hundreds of entries in 22 categories have been pored over by this year’s panel of expert Judges. Categories recognise excellence in specialist areas such as in-store scheme, lighting, shopfitting and technology, and in specific retail, leisure and hospitality categories.
Entries for the 2025 Awards will open in October. To view the full list of categories, Judging criteria, and images and video of the 2024 night, visit www.creativeretailawards.com
Judging panel
The Judging panel for the 2024 Creative Retail Awards consisted of:
- Retail industry expert and commentator Andrew Busby, now strategy lead at CX design agency Industrious.
- Dalziel and Pow co-founder David Dalziel, a globally-recognised design figure responsible for some of our most familiar stores.
- SaveTheHighStreet.org board member and former British Display Society director John Abbate, who worked for brands including Ralph Lauren and Levi Strauss before working as a designer and educator.
- Designer Tim Nash, who works with brands across the retail sector as well being the driving force behind Shop Drop Daily, an inspirational resource for the industry.
- Judith Kelly, the head of retail design and delivery at property giant Hammerson, who is responsible for the look and feel of some of Europe’s biggest retail attractions.
- Journalist Matthew Valentine, who has covered the retail design sector for titles including Retail Week, Design Week and In-Store over three decades.
