In the News

Grand + Benedicts was recently ranked the seventh Healthiest Employer in Oregon at the Portland Business Journal Healthiest Employer Awards. With in-house workout facilities, showers, bike storage with incentives for bike commuting, an employee greenhouse, a corporate culture devoted to staying active, and an annual health screening for well being, G+B ranked in the top ten of the 5-100 employee category.

“We believe healthy employees are happier, and it’s exciting to be recognized,” said President John Phillips. “Many of our employees are dedicated to staying healthy and making the most out of lunch – whether it’s participating in a P90X program in our yoga studio, kayaking, conquering the West Hills by bike or peaceful walk along the waterfront.”

About Healthiest Employer
Healthiest Employers, a private data research company focused on corporate wellness, honors companies using a benchmark system that ranks organizations based on their survey responses.

Portland, Ore. – Stacey Santoro is the new business development manager of Grand & Benedicts, a global manufacturer of retail fixtures. Santoro brings extensive experience in the retail fixture industry ranging from project management, sales and director of new business development at Fleetwood Fixtures, to sales at Process Displays (PD) in temporary and semi-permanent retail solutions. With ten years of experience developing custom retail fixture programs, Santoro will focus on expanding the company’s reach in East Coast retail accounts and design firms nationwide.

Portland, Ore. – Grand & Benedicts, a global manufacturer of retail fixtures, recently added Emily Meija to its project management team. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in interior design from the Design Institute in San Diego and background working at Soljaga Design Group, an interior design and planning firm in Portland, Meija brings a strong background in design, client relations, and project management to the position. Meija will be working with national retail clients, GUESS and Charming Charlie.

Portland, Ore. – The right materials for a fixture program can be hard to find, especially when working overseas. To help clients with the search for materials and find inspiration, Grand & Benedicts, a global manufacturer of retail fixtures, now offers clients off-the-shelf access to materials from around the world from their new Design Resource Library at the company’s headquarters in Portland. The G&B Design Resource Library welcomes clients to pull together materials and ideas for their fixture programs. With a uniform labeling system used in both the U.S. and China, client choices are synchronized through production. Design literature and periodicals of retail projects jumpstart ideas while green programs keep employees up to speed on the latest sustainable materials. “Our Design Resource Library supplies our clients with a centralized place to learn about new materials while helping them explore options,” said President John Phillips. “Getting materials in hand can go a long way toward inspiring a new program and specifying materials with overseas factories.” Built in collaboration with Maison, Inc., an award-winning interior design firm in Portland, the G&B Design Resource Library is intended to jumpstart ideas. A floor made from a recycled gymnasium and light fixtures from an old Portland warehouse set the tone. And a work-height table supplies ample room to explore material palettes and collaborate with G&B designers. Materials ranging from wood and laminates to exquisite hand-etched patterns on metal are available at the library, along with a full range of resource books.

Portland, Ore. – Grand & Benedicts, a global manufacturer of retail fixtures, recently added Kathy Mann to its account management team. With ten years of experience in retail design, Mann has shifted her focus to business development and will serve as key account manager for the GUESS account. Mann earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from University of Arizona. “We’re excited to have Kathy Mann join our team,” said President John Phillips. “Her complementary skill set of interior design and retail experience is a perfect fit for integrating our new Design Resource Library with customer needs.”

Portland, Ore. – Responding to increasing demand for global creative services, Grand & Benedicts has added Industrial Designer Neil Wang to their overseas design and engineering team. Wang, who previously worked as an R&D Manager in the fixture industry, earned a BA in Industrial Design from Fuzhou University in China. Wang will be based in the company’s overseas headquarters in Xiamen, China.

Portland, Ore. – Grand & Benedicts recently added Industrial Designer Jacky Su to its creative team based in the store fixture manufacturer’s Portland headquarters. Su earned a BA in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Seattle and previously designed store fixtures and retail environments for a women’s apparel retailer, Coldwater Creek. As the former owner of a design firm in Taiwan, Su also specialized in tradeshow booth design.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts is one of the first global producers of retail store fixtures in the industry. G&B provides a wide spectrum of services to national brands, retailers and design firms, including custom fixture design, global manufacturing, assembly and fulfillment. An extensive supply of fixtures can be found at www.grand-benedicts.com. G&B also specializes in producing high-end fixture systems, such as Pearl District and Skyline Pole system, available at www.gbcustomfixtures.com.

Grand & Benedicts, a Portland, Oregon-based retail fixture company, announced that Danielle Lawrence has joined its project management team. With a strong background in interior and retail store design, Lawrence will be instrumental in supporting clients fixture design, manufacturing, and distribution.

Studying interior design at San Diego State University gave Lawrence a solid background in site planning. From there, Lawrence designed retail environments and government offices at retail design firms. As project manager at Grand & Benedicts, she will assist in developing custom fixture programs from concept through delivery for new store programs, remodels and roll-outs.

To expand the company’s overseas expertise, Grand & Benedicts, a Portland, Ore.-based global manufacturer of store fixtures, recently hired an overseas sourcing engineer named Yolk You. With extensive experience in material sourcing, You will seek out the highest quality suppliers and locate hard-to-find materials.

“Increasing the capacity of our material research team brings more options and better quality materials to our customers,” said President John Phillips.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts is one of the first global producers of retail store fixtures in the industry. G&B provides a wide spectrum of services to national brands, retailers and design firms, including custom fixture design, global manufacturing, assembly and fulfillment. An extensive supply of fixtures can be found at www.grand-benedicts.com. G&B also specializes in producing high-end fixture systems, such as The Pearl District and The Skyline Pole available at www.gbcustomfixtures.com.

Portland, Ore. – Based global manufacturer of store fixtures, recently extended its design department to Xiamen, China, with the addition of Design Engineer ShaoLi Kong. With experience as an R&D, product technology and drafting engineer, Kong will enhance quality control and tighten timelines.

“Kong will expedite our fixture programs and provide higher accuracy and efficiency to our design process,” said President John Phillips. “Kong’s extensive knowledge of the production process will cut critical time from the design and engineering phase.”  

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and store closing services. To explore our new online ordering, visit www.grand-benedicts.com. For more information about our custom services, visit www.gbcustomfixtures.com.

Portland, Ore. – Rolling out retail stores takes finely tuned multi-tasking experience – something global store fixture manufacturer Grand & Benedicts looks for in a project manager. Sarah Arthur, who coordinated over 30 store openings for lucy activewear and 7 For All Mankind, fit the job perfectly. As project manager, Arthur brings a strong track record of getting stores open on-time and on-budget. “In addition to Sarah’s understanding of timelines and key deliverables, she brings the client perspective and knowing what the customer expects,” said Custom Programs Manager Molly Crouser. “We’re excited to see how Sarah’s expertise will fuel the team’s accomplishments.”
Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts is one of the first global producers of retail store fixtures in the industry. G&B provides a wide spectrum of services to national brands, retailers and design firms, including custom fixture design, global manufacturing, assembly and fulfillment. View their custom work at www.gbcustomfixtures.com. An extensive supply of stock fixtures, including high-end fixture systems such as The Pearl District and The Skyline Pole, can be found at www.grand-benedicts.com.

Portland, Ore. – If one person understands the rigors of the retail world, it’s Abigail Craigen. After working in the retail industry for 18 years at stores including White House Black Market, Fred Meyer and Maurices, she’s experienced firsthand the kind of quality it takes for store fixtures to make it in the retail environment. Recently promoted to business development manager at G&B, she’ll have a hand in shaping the design of retail fixtures and ensuring they perform in the field.
 “We’re excited about the experience Abigail brings to the position,” said John Phillips, CEO of Grand & Benedicts.
Craigen has an extensive background in apparel, including an associate degree in fashion design from the Art institute of Portland and a Business Management degree from Portland State University. For the past five years, Craigen has worked as a sales support and project manager at G&B. While she enjoyed her previous job, she is looking forward to applying her experience shaping the development of projects from the very beginning.

Portland, Ore. – If earning admittance in to college were based on motivation alone, four students of De La Salle North Catholic High School in North Portland would have no problem gaining entry. But without adequate educational resources, college is out of reach. Working with the Cristo Rey Network’s Corporate Internship Program at De La Salle, Grand & Benedicts, a global store fixture manufacturer, is helping four De La Salle students reach their goals of earning a college degree.

The internship puts students to work in a range of job tasks at Grand & Benedicts, including purchasing, marketing and accounting, while Grand & Benedicts finances the cost of their college preparatory education. The Cristo Rey Network boasts an incredible success rate – 99 percent of their graduates are accepted into college. Combining real world experience of working at Grand & Benedicts while funding their college preparatory program at La Salle gives students a valuable perspective about how their education translates to the work environment. “It’s important to provide meaningful jobs that allow students to grow,” said John Phillips, CEO of Grand & Benedicts. Juan Alvarado, who is an intern in the Grand & Benedicts marketing department said, “As a student, I believe that the Corporate Internship Program is a very unique program because it allows students to interact in a job environment and gain valuable work experience for the future.”

About De La Salle North Catholic High School
De La Salle North Catholic High School is one of 24 high schools in the Cristo Rey Network, a college preparatory program designed to help urban students to get educated to attend college. De La Salle is a college preparatory school that serves a racially diverse community of capable, interested, and motivated students who wish to have a college education but otherwise would not have the opportunity. To learn more about the Cristo Rey Network schools visit www.cristoreynetwork.org.

Portland, Ore. – Fresh from being awarded the City of Portland Recycleworks award, Grand & Benedicts heightened their green efforts by constructing a rooftop greenhouse for employees to grow their own vegetables. Fully equipped with an irrigation system, potting table and tools, the greenhouse supplies everything needed to grow “start” plants and keep them thriving through the winter. An employee “Greenhouse Coordinator” is tasked with growing tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce for an onsite salad bar. Supplying plenty of space for employees to grow their own plants, the company aims to give employees ways to eat healthier and extend green practices at home.
“We believe healthy employees are happier employees,” said John Phillips, president of Grand & Benedicts. The greenhouse expands a company-wide commitment to encouraging healthy lifestyles and green practices, including an employee workout room, locker rooms with solar-heated water, Bike Commute Challenge incentive program and a comprehensive recycling initiative. The greenhouse program compliments Wellness 2000, a wellness program that monitors employees’ health each year and helps them build a healthy diet and fitness plan. Having access to vegetables grown onsite also fits the company’s strong exercise and bike commuting culture.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and store closing services. They have 105 employees working out the Portland, Oregon headquarters, sales offices around the country or showrooms in Seattle, WA and Hayward, CA. For more information, visit www.grand-benedicts.com. 

Portland, OR—One-third of the waste a typical business throws away is paper that could be recycled instead of buried in a landfill. But Grand & Benedicts and other Portland businesses are starting a new trend. Practicing sustainable purchasing and educating employees to make a positive impact, RecycleWorks award winners are raising the bar on waste reduction. The City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development recently presented Grand & Benedicts with the award, a distinctive trophy made locally from reclaimed bicycle parts.

RecycleWorks award winners commit to going beyond recycling with activities that range from reducing paper use to purchasing at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper; using durable dishware; buying green power and offering a subsidy to employees using alternative transportation.

Grand & Benedicts has been committed to green practices since 1996. Over the years, the company’s efforts have grown from installing solar-powered showers in its locker rooms to developing clean manufacturing methods. To date, G&B has expanded its green efforts include:

• Switching to paperless billing and training employees in how to print less saves massive amounts of paper

• Giving incentives to employees to commute to work via alternative methods of transportation, such as subsidized mass transit passes. Indoor bike storage and carpools, cuts down on vehicle emissions

• Offering biodegradable bags to customers encourages retailers to switch to an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags

• Utilizing reduced-VOC emission composite panels in fixture programs to comply with the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) regulations

• Relying on the use of steel with a high recycled content and powder coating as an alternative to airborne solvent paint finishes helps G&B minimize the impact of heavy industrial manufacturing on Chinese air and water quality

• Recycling materials and reselling used displays and fixtures from stores closings promotes sustainability and keeps unnecessary waste out of landfills
Grand & Benedicts is the largest global fixture manufacturer on the West Coast. Started in 1945, G&B offers a wide spectrum of services, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and liquidations. For more information, visit: www.grand-benedicts.com or www.gbcustomfixtures.com.

The RecycleWorks award is a program of the City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development’s Recycle at Work program. Learn more about Recycle at Work and other business assistance programs—including green building and energy efficiency–at www.portlandonline.com/osd.

Portland, Ore. – Grand & Benedicts, a global manufacturer of store fixtures based in Portland, Oregon, was recently recognized in an “Outstanding Merit Award” by the A.R.E (Association for Retail Environments) for their work supplying LEED-certified fixtures for the “REI Round Rock” store, a new store initiative that merges green building concepts with retail design.
The REI Round Rock project was designed by Gensler, a global architecture firm in California, to reflect REI’s sense of community and environmental responsibility. G&B supplied fixtures that complied with LEED standards while meeting the look and feel of the REI brand. Working on the REI Round Rock project reinforced green initiatives G&B had installed in their operations for years.

Portland, Ore. – Just a few years after starting a custom design department, Grand & Benedicts has become an industry leader in providing custom, full-store retail fixture programs. Adding a custom design department expanded the company's spectrum of services and capitalized on expertise 50 years strong. To reflect the full range of custom services it now provides, Grand & Benedicts has launched a new website: www.gbcustomfixtures.com.

"Our custom fixture website gives customers the opportunity to explore the big picture of how design follows through to production," said President John Phillips. "It also identifies opportunities where customers can save them money on fixture programs – whether through materials or the design itself."

The Grand & Benedicts custom website provides an inside look at how every component of a fixture program fits together in Passport365, the company's overseas production process. Showing customers how a fixture program moves from concept stage through engineering, materials sourcing, assembly and finishing then logistics and fulfillment illustrates the full range of the services Grand & Benedicts provides.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and store closing services.

The current soft market presents retailers with numerous challenges. By adding more specialists to our team, G&B will help retailers find opportunities within that same environment, said Nick Maestas, Vice President of Sales at Grand & Benedicts.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to project management and in-store installation. For more information, visit: www.grand-benedicts.com.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to add value to the service we provide to our customers. That means bringing in new talent to make our creative services and custom design thrive,” said John Phillips, president of Grand & Benedicts.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and liquidations. For more information, visit: www.grand-benedicts.com.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and liquidations.”.

“We’re thrilled to end the year with a sales record and head into the next year with expanded availability for our customers,” said John Phillips, president of Grand & Benedicts.

Founded in 1948, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services to retail stores and corporations, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and liquidations.”.

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, based in Portland, and Redhook, based in Seattle, fared well in the competition, outpacing industry leaders, Miller Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch Companies and Heineken International to claim Silver POPAI Indians, the store fixture industry’s most widely recognized merchandising award for point-of-purchase displays.

“The Widmer and Redhook displays outperformed displays costing hundreds of dollars more per unit from Fortune500 companies with mammoth marketing budgets,” said Brian Sturkie, Grand & Benedicts director of New Product Development, who designed the displays.

The Widmer Hefeweizen® Beer Rack is a point-of-purchase display designed to fit in the produce department of specialty and neighborhood grocery stores in the West Coast and cross-sell lemons, which are served with Hefeweizen® beer. “Reaction quote from Widmer,” Widmer executive and title.

The Redhook Defy Case Stacker display is an invisible “ladder” that extends out of a footprint the size of a case of Redhook and straight up. Channels hold empty cases of Redhook, giving the illusion that the cases are floating in air. “Reaction quote from Redhook,” Redhook executive and title.

Grand & Benedicts, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is the largest store fixture company on the West Coast. Started in 1947, Grand & Benedicts offers a wide spectrum of services, ranging from custom fixture design and manufacturing to in-store installation and liquidations. For more information, visit: www.grand-benedicts.com.