Photo: Raul Tovar
For three decades, Eric Feigenbaum has had a diverse and distinguished career in visual merchandising and store design, making his mark in both the professional and academic arenas. Most notably, he was the 2012 recipient of the Markopoulos Award. Presented by Design:Retail Magazine, it is the highest honor given to an individual in the visual merchandising and store design industry.
A pioneer in advocating an eco-friendly approach to visual merchandising and store design, Feigenbaum is responsible for conceiving and designing the state-of-the-art LIM College Green Lab - a sustainable materials lab and research center.
Prior to joining LIM College in 2000, where he lead the Visual Merchandising Department for fifteen years, Feigenbaum was the Director of Visual Merchandising for Walker Group/CNI, an architectural consultancy specializing in retail design worldwide. In that role he helped bring visual merchandising to Asia and South America and was involved in the design of stores in South Korea, Japan, Chile and Peru. He was also a key contributor in the development and application of Walker Group’s proprietary service Envirobranding®, which promotes the physical store environment as an integral component of a company’s projected brand image. And from 1986 to 1995, he served as the Corporate Director of Visual Merchandising for Stern’s Department Store, a Division of Federated Department Stores. In that capacity, he played a key role in the design and development of seven new stores and ten renovations. He also served as the chair of Federated's Visual Directors' Team.
Visual Merchandising
Eric Feigenbaum has been a leader in the visual merchandising industry for over thirty years. He has built and defined branded visual merchandising images for stores across the world, including his work at Stern's Department Store, a major New York Metropolitan area retailer, and his work in Asia and South America. He has received numerous industry awards, most notably the coveted Markopoulos Award and the NADI Visual Merchandiser of the Year Award. An avid and accomplished writer, he has penned visual merchandising standards and practices manuals for retailers worldwide. Additionally, he is also recognized as the industry historian, being the go-to person for insights into the evolution of the visual merchandising industry. He has appeared on nationally broadcast CBS This Morning, speaking about the past, present and future of the mannequin.
Writing
Feigenbaum is an avid and accomplished writer, having published well over a hundred articles for publications across the industry. Most notably, he is the New York Editor of VMSD (Visual Merchandising and Store Design) magazine where he writes eight articles a year and a monthly blog. When writing about a retail environment, he likes to take his readers on a tour of the store, exploring the nuances of the space and the solution to challenges faced by the designers. His monthly blogs delve into issues of the day that not only involve the industry, but also our culture and society. His writing has also facilitated visual merchandising strategies for stores across the world as he has penned numerous visual merchandising standards and guidelines manuals.
Speaking & Events
Feigenbaum is an accomplished and in-demand public speaker. He has taken the microphone on stages across the world, speaking at colleges and universities, and major industry events. He is regularly featured at The International Retail Design Conference and VisionExpo East, and has spoken at universities ranging from the Polytechnic Institute of Milan, to Syracuse University and The School of Visual Arts. He has also addressed corporate retail forums on the art and science of visual merchandising. A portfolio of speaking events includes:
The World Retail Conference, Madrid
National Retail Federation, New York
International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) Seattle, Dallas, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Miami and New Orleans
ABEISV, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia
Latin American Visual Merchandising Conference, (ALVM) Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City
EuroShop, Dusseldorf
World Retail Study Tour Australia. Sydney and Melbourne
Retail 2020, Ancona, Italy
Retail Asia, Hong Kong
Congreso Internacional, Lima, Peru
Bogota Fashion Week, Bogota, Colombia
POPAI, Milan and New York