Principal and MG2 Advisory Lead Melissa Gonzalez has been named one of Rethink Retail’s Top Retail Experts of 2025.
The Top Retail Experts distinction is a prestigious accolade in the Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods industry. Earning a place within the Top Retail Experts Community is considered a tremendous achievement and based on outstanding contributions in these fields.
MG2 ranks #4 in Building Design + Construction’s Top 140 Retail Architecture Firms for 2024 list.
的 SOREL pop-up has been named one of Interior Design’s 2024 Best of Year Awards Honorees.
Interior Design’s 19th annual Best of Year Awards celebrate outstanding projects and products across the design industry. Winners were revealed by Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen during a vibrant ceremony in Manhattan on December 12. But the celebration doesn’t stop there! Discover who earned top honors in each category, and raise a glass to another year of bold, inspiring design.
As consumers navigated economic uncertainty in 2024, their priorities and expectations evolved to center on value.
However, industry players quickly learned that consumers’ definition of “value” varies greatly depending on their household income, cultural alignment and more. How can brands embrace new marketing strategies, services and tech to solve this new value equation?
15 retail industry experts shared their predictions, while offering tactical tips to help you thrive in 2025 and beyond.
Access this interactive multimedia guide to get timely data and best practices from experts like Melissa Gonzalez, Principal, MG2 Advisory Lead.
A newcomer to the area is camera retailer Leica. Housed in a Greek revival rowhouse built in the 19th century, the building’s historic aesthetic, including the interior brick and wooden rafters, was incorporated into the retail space’s final design. Showcasing cameras with brightly lit finishes, casework and FF&E, the space also includes a photography gallery.
Ultimately, the flagship celebrates “the Meatpacking District’s historic setting while introducing contemporary elements that represented the brand and provided a high-end space for Leica to connect with its audience through a multifunctional retail environment,” says Marta Abas, Senior Project Designer, MG2.
L to R: Russ Hazzard, AIA, President, MG2; Kevin Haney, PE, President and CEO, Colliers Engineering & Design; Mitch Smith, AIA, LEED AP, CEO and Chairman, MG2. Download high-resolution image.
New partnership offers architecture, design, engineering, and more with locations across the U.S.
SEATTLE, WA—Dec. 3, 2024—Global architecture and design firm MG2 announced today that it has joined Colliers Engineering & Design, a division of the global commercial real estate and investment management firm Colliers. MG2 is ranked a top 20 Architecture Firm and among the top five in Retail Design. MG2’s more than 400 architects, designers, and staff operate across seven offices in the U.S. and China: Seattle, Portland, Irvine, Minneapolis, Washington, DC, New York, and Shanghai. Their award-winning team of strategists, creatives, and technical experts work together to solve problems and design solutions that bring their clients’ visions to life.
Colliers Engineering & Design, headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey, is a privately held company with 75+ offices throughout the United States. Partnering with Colliers Engineering & Design allows MG2 to expand its geographic reach and add expertise in building systems and structural engineering, site development, civil engineering, and construction management.
“Joining a complementary professional practice with Collier’s Engineering & Design’s resources and expertise enables us take advantage of growth opportunities in the market immediately and maintain the pace of our strategic plan,” says MG2 Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mitch Smith, AIA, LEED AP. “Our greatest strength lies in our people, our clients, and our commitment to helping them succeed. This strategic step with Colliers Engineering & Design offers opportunities for our people to do their best work.”
“We are thrilled to have MG2 join our team,” says Colliers Engineering & Design President and CEO Kevin L. Haney, PE. “Collier’s Engineering & Design invests in relationships to promote sustained growth and success, and this agreement will enable us to continue to drive market growth as a top-tier national commercial industry leader, provide clients with exceptional commercial design services, and accelerate communities nationwide.”
Current MG2 leaders will become senior partners within Colliers Engineering & Design, maintaining the company’s leadership structure and culture. MG2 will be rebranded at a future date.
Guided by our vision to create transformative experiences that foster and elevate healthy communities, MG2 has been delivering award-winning projects and programs for over 50 years. We partner with some of the world’s most recognizable companies and brands to bring exceptional design solutions to life through full architectural, strategic planning, cost management, interior design, brand strategy, and program consulting services. Our offices in the U.S.—Seattle, Portland, New York, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, and Irvine—integrate building performance and social responsibility into every project. At MG2, our greatest strength lies in our people, our clients, and our commitment to helping them succeed. We are purpose-driven by nature, data-driven by design. www.mg2.com
Colliers Engineering & Design is a trusted provider of multi-discipline engineering, design and consulting services to public and private sector clients. Headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey, with a network of offices throughout the United States, we specialize in providing a comprehensive suite of E/A services including Civil/Site, Architecture, Transportation, Governmental, Survey/Geospatial, Infrastructure, Geotechnical/Environmental, Telecommunications, Utilities/Energy, and Project Management.
Our talented professionals utilize the most advanced technologies to deliver customized solutions for our clients. Colliers Engineering & Design is affiliated with Colliers (NASDAQ, TSX: CIGI) a leading diversified professional services and investment management company. Learn more at colliersengineering.com. Visit us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Today’s beauty landscape is a diverse one, especially as it relates to varying generational preferences. The oldest Gen Alpha consumer may only be 14 years old however in 2023 they drove nearly $4.7 billion on beauty purchases, outspending every other demographic.* And while it is important for brands and retailers to identify strategic ways to engage and connect with this young consumer in-store, it is of equal importance that Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomer consumers do not feel alienated, undervalued or underserved, especially considering their collective spending power. In our investigation, we took a deeper dive into understanding these cross-generational beauty consumer behaviors and preferences to reveal future-forward store design and programming opportunities that encompass a holistic lens around the diversity of today’s consumer, the affinities and differences around new routes to discovery, as well as drivers to in-store engagement and customer loyalty.
*AYTM 2024
The full report is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!
Per our investigation, our respondents shared the following key insights as it relates to their experience with and their perception of women’s beauty environments, and which offerings and touchpoints in-store would deliver the most value:
MORE THAN HALF of all respondents indicated it is of equal importance to be both educated and inspired when shopping in-store, rather than one over the other
NEARLY 70% of all respondents desire the ability to freely touch products and styling tools in-store, with 51% desiring a test/try experimentation bar for this very purpose
#1 for all respondents is a desire for regimen-based merchandising year-over-year (e.g. face, skin, hair)
MORE THAN 60% of all respondents are interested in beauty product and packaging recycling receptacles being featured in-store
3 OUT OF 5 respondents find skin scan or makeup mirrors for personalized product recommendations and education to be a value driver to the shopping experience
The beauty landscape is an increasingly competitive one, and from Gen Alpha to Boomers, consumers are doing their best to keep up with the latest social media trends while identifying which brands and products will best support their individual needs along their beauty journey. In-store, product education, and inspiration are table stakes. Consumers are eager to learn and discover in an environment that prioritizes a sense of empowerment and play, giving them the freedom to test products at their leisure. They also value informative displays and visuals, both digital and physical, as a means to learn and discover. When it comes to merchandising, consumers value a convenient and efficient shopping experience, desiring regimen-based planning at the shelf to help them find an effective solution quickly. Consumers of all ages are intrigued by emerging trends, such as clean beauty and inclusive beauty, and they value product and peer recommendations in-store to help inform their purchase-making decisions. In exchange for their loyalty and repeat spending, beauty consumers want rewards programs that are points-driven and result in perks such as free shipping, gifts, and exclusive events. Most importantly, as beauty consumers face new life changes, they want the brands they have come to trust to continue to be there for them while giving them the opportunity to explore something new. No matter their age or where they are on their beauty journey, consumers are ever-changing, and they expect brands to evolve and adapt with them.
With more customers focused on value and scarcer real estate, brands and retailers are rethinking their holiday pop-up strategies.
Melissa Gonzalez, principal of Seattle-based architecture and design firm MG2, said she has also noticed fewer brands pursuing pop-ups. For the ones that do, the companies are focused on really getting the best bang for their buck.
“For brands that are targeting holiday pop-ups, it’s just really important — probably even more so than other times of the year — that they’re really understanding the unique value proposition because it is such a competitive time,” Gonzalez said. “The consumer’s mindset is so much more around holiday deals, and there’s already brands that they know and have relationships with, so what are you going to do to entice with something special, something unique?”
Leica’s luxury storefront in Bellevue was the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce’s Project of the Week.
“The 2,415-square-foot store is Leica’s first location in the U.S. to receive the company’s new Leica Global Concept design that modernizes space using natural surfaces made of sustainable wood in warm tones to convey a calm atmosphere for guests.”
A Senior Associate at the global architecture and design firm MG2, Sarah specializes in retail-focused design and tenant improvements within the architecture and construction field. With a career spanning 11 years, she has a track record of successfully delivering projects on time and within budget, even amidst the challenges posed by complex logistical requirements and diverse stakeholder expectations.
Glossy Senior Beauty Reporter Emily Jensen spoke with MG2 Principal Melissa Gonzalez about pop-up culture.
“Long lines can often be a sign of success, but Gonzalez said organizers need to be proactive about how consumers are experiencing long wait times, such as by sending out ambassadors to entertain those waiting in line or handing out free samples. ‘You keep the positive energy while they’re out there for you,’ said Gonzalez, whose firm has created experiential pop-ups for likes of footwear brand Sorel 和 the Amazon Prime show ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ ‘That way, being in that line becomes part of the experience in a positive way, too.'”
MG2 has been working closely with digital-native, direct-to-consumer footwear brand Kizik to bring its hands-free technology to brick-and-mortar. Kizik’s experiential pop-up on Greene Street in New York’s SoHo neighborhood introduced the brand for the first time to a New York audience—consumers, traditional media, and influencers.
At the entrance of the space, a “conveyor belt” display of footwear led to the brand’s AHA moment, a “hands-free try-on” experience to determine fit and size. The entire process of shopping the pop-up was frictionless. A full range of styles were displayed and drop shipping allowed consumers to purchase their shoes without the hassle and inconvenience of lugging them around the city.
Motion, visualized through dynamic lighting, was a theme throughout the pop-up. Digital screens conveyed Kizik’s new tagline: “Motion is magic.” After engaging with the brand, consumers were invited to unlock a mystery door at the back of the store which led to an illuminated portal. An immersive and interactive color display allowed them to use their bodies to create a personalized light show.
The Kizik pop-up provided an immersive experience that evoked a sense of endless possibilities, showcasing the magic of motion. Originally scheduled to run for one weekend, the pop-up was so successful, it was extended an additional five weeks.
In collaboration with Kizik, MG2 has been charged with introducing the “hands-free, step-in” footwear brand into physical stores. After its New York City pop-up, Kizik opened stores across the U.S. including Mall of America (Minneapolis), King of Prussia (Philadelphia), and Newbury Street (Boston). These new locations are not only a physical manifestation of the brand but also bring to life a high-sensory fit experience and showcase the brand’s new “motion is magic” design.
Kizik blue is prominent, both on the exterior and interior of the store. A blue portal entry encompasses both a blue archway and pathway that leads to the store’s primary display to create a threshold moment. The key design principle of the Kizik brick-and-mortar experience is fitting the customer in a pair of shoes as early in the journey as possible. It’s an AHA moment that captures and celebrates the magic of the brand.
Floor-to-ceiling vitrines flank the portal to create Kizik’s signature “fishbowl” storefront, which allows passers-by to see into the space and take part in the store experience. Motion is an important part of the Kizik brand, and digital screens are placed prominently throughout. The “motion is magic” tagline is abstractly reinforced through circular pendants, half-circle benches and fixtures, gradient wall treatments, and mirrored graphics that reflect consumers as they move about the space.
These stores were designed to be modular and flexible. Elevated, versatile displays capture a sense of motion to create an environment that empowers visitors to discover and explore. Modular systems allow Kizik to morph and change as it continues to grow and expand. Shelving can be moved up, down or removed entirely. Central displays can be reconfigured to form a variety of patterns. Standout design elements include the store’s materiality—a juxtaposition of surfaces including perforated metals, concrete, and textured paints with LED neon and vibrant blue.
The result is inviting and visually engaging spaces that captivate and draw in the eye, enhancing the overall aesthetic and reinforcing the brand identity.
MG2 has been named the #2 firm in Puget Sound Business Journal’s list of the Largest Architecture Firms in the Seattle Area.
“As the idea of holistic health has taken root in society, marketers are exploring new ways of communicating with customers to promote wellness. ‘There’s a variety of promises that brands can make from a lifestyle point of view,’ says Melissa Gonzalez, principal at MG2. ‘It can be everything from new product offerings to sections of beauty departments that explain benefits in a wellness context to awareness of environmental issues.’
“A January 2024 report on holistic health from the MG2 Advisory group explores how marketers can capitalize on what it sees as the next wellness frontier: the retail store. ‘By evaluating traditional store design elements through the lens of wellness,’ the report states, ‘brands have the opportunity to create environments that are more holistic, rather than simply physical, and inclusive of cognitive, emotional and spiritual health attributes.'”
Recently highlighted in Retail TouchPoints by Editor Adam Blair, For the Thrill of It: Eatertainment Experiences That Cater to All dives into the key drivers of a successful eatertainment venue.
“There’s a reason that ‘eat’ comes first in ‘eatertainment.’ ‘People want to have a one-stop destination, and if you can do that successfully, you’ll earn more of their time and wallet,’ said Melissa Gonzalez.”
Hear from Russ Hazzard, President of MG2, in his Q&A with The Zweig Letter Correspondent, Liisa Andreassen.
“Hazzard first joined MG2 in 1993. He says that they’re always looking to grow their shareholder base and to bring younger contributors into the fold – people who want to grow the company and take over when the old guard retires.
“‘It will be exciting to watch as the next generation leads the firm and the industry into the future,’ he says.” Find the full interview in the link here:
Chain restaurants are consistent in both their food and their design, which is a huge part of their appeal to consumers, who know exactly what to expect on subsequent visits, even to new locations.
Bars should also ideally be visible from the entrance, says Joy Dayaw, associate, MG2 Design, Seattle, to create an immediate impression and to attract early arrivals
的 SOREL pop-up has been named one of the VMSD International Visual Competition Awards Honorable Mention.
“MG2 Advisory research found that in-store fit tech is […] a big draw for footwear shoppers. Up to 68% of consumers reaffirmed the importance of a ‘customized fit,’ and 40% said fit scan technology would benefit their in-store experiences.”
“I think the industry is benefiting from not just the acceptance of this technology but the overall fluidity that consumers are experiencing with technology,” said Melissa Gonzalez, Principal at MG2, to Retail Touchpoint’s Alicia Esposito.
Leica Camera is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The legendary reputation of the Leica brand is based on a long tradition of excellent quality, German craftsmanship and German industrial design, combined with innovative technologies.
Leica has identified North America as a key growth region for the brand and, as a result, is embarking on growing its store presence over the next few years. By partnering with MG2, the brand is launching this initiative with the opening of new stores in Bellevue, WA and a New York City flagship. MG2 is engaged as the full service architect, helping the client translate the design intent to adapt to the unique attributes of each site location while sourcing regionally. The project delivery scope includes design development, FF&E sourcing and procurement, construction documents, permitting, and construction project management.
Leica’s flagship location in New York City was featured in CBS News Uniquely New York with Rachel Holt.
“An immersive space where New Yorkers can experience the brand responsible for some of the most famous photographs in the world,” said Holt. Her interview with the President of Leica Camera North America, Mike Giannattasio, walks through all the spaces the Meatpacking District location offers.
MG2 ranked among the top 20 in Building Design+Construction Media’s recently released Top 200 Architecture Firms for 2024.
So excited to see that The Orange County Business Journal has ranked MG2 #18 in its Architectural Firms list for 2024.
“The firm has seen an uptick in retail, industrial, and affordable housing markets, according to chief executive officer Mitch Smith. ‘The growth in all three of these sectors has had a substantial impact on architectural billings in our Irvine office, reflecting the adaptability and agility of our team,’ Smith said.”
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