Visitor numbers rise at The Print Show and The Sign Show
Some 5,567 attendees were reported across the two shows this year, with some exhibitors also confirming a series of machinery sales that were completed during this year’s event
The Creative Retail Awards has announced its 2025 shortlist, presenting awards in 20 categories including Store Design of the Year and Design Agency of the Year
The Creative Retail Awards, an awards show designed to champion innovation and excellence across the global retail industry, has announced its 2025 shortlist.
This year’s ceremony will take place at London’s newly opened Emerald Theatre on September 25th 2025. Awards will be presented in 20 categories spanning visual merchandising, store design, digital integration, and sustainable design.
The shortlist also recognises the wider creative design and experience industry, with the organisers of the awards highlighting that “innovation across hospitality, leisure, and lifestyle environments increasingly shapes how brands connect with their audiences.”
The event will include the announcement of the publicly voted Software Design and Development (SDD) Concept of the Year, which recognises innovative and inspiring branded concepts.
This will be followed by the reveal of the Design Agency of the Year award, recognising overall creative excellence across multiple disciplines, and the inaugural Trailblazer Award, which celebrates a person, brand, or initiative that has had a significant impact on the industry.
Many companies included in this year’s shortlist have been nominated in multiple categories, with some even achieving multiple nominations in a single category. This includes organisations such as Northbanks, B_RD, Kesslers London, and Mega Creative.
Other companies in the shortlist include Imageco, which has been nominated in the Instore Scheme category for the ‘Dr Martens X Wednesday’ installation, which commemorated the launch of a limited-edition shoe collection designed around the Wednesday TV series.
StudioXAG also received a nomination in both the Retail Experience and Pop-Up Store categories for its ‘Hus of Frakta’ pop-up for Ikea, which celebrated the company’s iconic blue ‘Frakta’ bag.
The complete list of shortlisted entries is available through a digital brochure supplied by the organisers.
Antony Behiels, event organiser of the Creative Retail Awards and director at the Shop & Display Equipment Association (SDEA), says: “This year’s shortlist is filled with projects that capture the ambition, energy, and ingenuity driving the sector forward.
“The standard was exceptionally high, and our judges had incredibly hard decisions to make when narrowing it down. Every shortlisted entry deserves recognition for the quality and impact of their work.”
Tickets for the 2025 ceremony are now on sale through the Creative Retail Awards website, with the organisers stressing that availability is limited.
The team behind the Creative Retail Awards also recently launched a new awards platform for the commercial interiors sector.
The newly launched Creative Interior Awards will recognise excellence across the commercial interiors sector, with 18 categories up for grabs. The inaugural awards ceremony will be held in London in May 2026.
The awards platform is organised by the team behind the Creative Retail Awards, namely the SDEA and 365 Retail, along with the National Association of Shopfitters and Interior Contractors (NAS).
