The Creative Retail Awards crown the very best in retail, leisure and hospitality design at their 2024 Awards

The creative sector was partying last week after the announcement of the winners of the Creative Retail Awards 2024.

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