01
Retail strategy & positioning
Insight, brand and category strategy that defines what the store should do before a single fixture is drawn.
Retail
Retail design that turns stores into the strongest expression of the brand.
Chute Gerdeman is a retail design firm that designs store environments and physical brand experiences for national and emerging retailers. We have shaped retail for brands including Verizon, FAO Schwarz, Lilly Pulitzer, Altar’d State and Mattress Firm, owning the work from retail strategy and concept through environment design, fixtures, wayfinding and multi-location rollout.
A store is the highest-fidelity version of a brand a customer ever touches. We make that moment work commercially and emotionally, designing layouts, materials and merchandising systems that convert traffic and survive scaling to hundreds of doors.
What we do in retail
One team, the whole retail experience.
02
Store concept & experience design
Customer journey, zoning and storytelling that guides shoppers and frames product the way the brand intends.
03
Environment & fixture design
Materials, lighting, fixtures and millwork engineered to perform, merchandise clearly and reproduce at scale.
04
Wayfinding & environmental branding
Signage and graphic systems that orient shoppers and carry the brand voice through the whole space.
05
Rollout & delivery
Documentation and program design so the first concept survives intact from the flagship to the thousandth store.
Selected work
Retail projects from the Chute Gerdeman portfolio.
Retail
Turning Up the Volume
Croma
Retail
A flagship as colorful as the brand it sells.
Mars
Retail
Space for Creative Expression
Custom Ink
Retail
When Creativity Meets Community
Edwards Galleries
Retail
Forming a New Holiday Classic
FAO Schwarz and Target
Retail
Cultivating Generational Retail Success
Hicks Nurseries Experience Design
Retail
From bland utility to beloved brand.
Verizon
Retail
A Space With a Fighting Chance
Levy Vegas Golden Knights
Retail
All Dressed Up For A Design Homecoming
Lilly Pulitzer Flagship
Retail
Create a magical retail space for an iconic brand.
Mars M&M World
Retail
A New Journey to Better Sleep
Mattress Firm
Retail
Iconic Brand Returns to Wonder
FAO Schwarz
Retail
Delivering a Promise
Rent-A-Center
Retail
Beauty & Wellness at Scale
Sabon Beauty & Wellness At Scale
Retail
A Story of Generational Community Hospitality
Tilton's Automotive
Retail
Inventing a Concept, Complete With Characters
Toy Kingdom
Retail
Delivering a new packaged design
UPS Store
Retail
Say Yes to the New Bridal Experience
Vow'd Weddings
Retail
An Electrifying New Customer Journey
Xfinity
Retail
Stand Out For Good. With Altar'd State
Altar’d State Store Design
Why it matters
Retail design earns its keep at the register and in the brand. We design for both: clearer journeys, stronger dwell, and environments a chain can build consistently across markets.
- 30+
- Years designing retail environments
- 200+
- Industry design awards
- 1→1000
- Concepts built to roll out across stores
From The Gist
Retail thinking, trends and perspective.
Article ·June 17, 2026
Quiet Luxury in Brick and Mortar
Retail fashion trends come and go. Find out more about one concept that seems to be here to stay - quiet luxury.
Article ·June 10, 2026
Retailtainment and the Gamification of Retail
Step into a world of retailtainment, where customers can do more than shop, they can immerse themselves in playful multi-sensory experiences.
Article ·February 14, 2024
Quiet Luxury in Brick-and-Mortar
Logos are fading and restraint is the new flex. What does quiet luxury mean for the physical store?
Article ·January 1, 2024
What SoHo’s Best Retail Gets Right - Chute Gerdeman
Our team spent an afternoon in Soho, one of retail’s meccas, to assess how brand experiences dress up for the big apple.
Article ·January 1, 2024
What Retail Can Learn From Magnolia Market - Chute Gerdeman
Part retail, part hospitality, The Magnolia Market demonstrates what it means to build a mixed-use concept around community.
Article ·January 1, 2024
What Retail Can Learn from Discord
Discord is not just for gamers anymore. Retail brands are finding opportunities to attract new fans and build brand loyalty in this digital space.
Retail design — frequently asked questions
Who designs retail stores for major brands?
Chute Gerdeman is an independent retail design firm based in Westerville, Ohio that designs store environments for major and emerging brands, including Verizon, FAO Schwarz, Lilly Pulitzer and Altar’d State. It has specialised in physical retail experiences for more than 30 years.
What does a retail design firm do?
A retail design firm shapes the physical store: strategy and positioning, store concept and customer journey, environment and fixture design, wayfinding and environmental branding, and documentation for multi-location rollout. Chute Gerdeman owns this full arc from first insight through to the built store.
Does Chute Gerdeman handle multi-location retail rollouts?
Yes. Chute Gerdeman designs retail concepts so they reproduce consistently across markets, owning the work from the flagship through to the thousandth store with rollout-ready documentation and program design.
How does store design affect sales?
Store design shapes how customers move, what they notice and how long they stay. Clear zoning, intuitive wayfinding and well-merchandised fixtures improve product visibility and dwell time, which supports conversion, while a coherent environment strengthens the brand customers return to.
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