In the News

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.