What Chute Gerdeman does

Chute Gerdeman is a privately held brand experience design firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, operating as a strategic subsidiary of ASG (Asset Strategies Group). The firm delivers holistic experience design services to enterprise and mid-market brands across four primary verticals: retail, restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery. Its offering is structured around a 'Think. Create. Scale.' methodology spanning strategy and insights, brand and environmental design, and design development with construction-ready documentation for fleet roll-outs. Proprietary frameworks include the RRR (Refresh, Refurb, Remodel) capital-allocation playbook and the Concept Affinity grocery experience framework, both designed to tie design investment to measurable performance outcomes.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements sourced primarily via direct sales, referrals, and industry reputation, supported by a thought-leadership content platform (The Gist newsletter and podcast) and gated industry research reports. Its client roster includes major consumer-facing brands such as Xfinity, Krispy Kreme, FAO Schwarz, El Pollo Loco, GIANT, MAPCO, Wendy's, Altar'd State, Mattress Firm, Custom Ink, Rent-A-Center, Lilly Pulitzer, and Sabon, with projects delivered across the US, Portugal, South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Israel, and other international markets. The firm employs approximately 60 designers, strategists, and creative professionals and has earned multiple Shop! Design Awards (2017, 2021, 2025) and a 2019 Shopper Marketing Effie Award.

Chute Gerdeman's competitive positioning rests on three decades of category experience, an integrated design-to-construction capability via its ASG affiliation, and a content-marketing engine that positions the firm as a knowledge leader in retail experience design. Revenue and headcount trends are not publicly disclosed, and the firm has not raised institutional capital. Co-founder Denny Gerdeman is publicly cited as a design industry hall-of-famer, and Carrie Barclay serves as CEO.

Name

Chute Gerdeman

Legal name

Chute Gerdeman

Website

https://chutegerdeman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chute Gerdeman is a privately held, 36-year-old brand experience design firm in Westerville, Ohio that designs stores, restaurants, c-stores, and grocery environments for enterprise brands using a Think-Create-Scale methodology, operating as a subsidiary of ASG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Experience Design

akta.pro primary industry

Shopper/Commerce Creative Agencies (Retail & Marketplace Creative) (MPAAAAAH)

Keywords

• Brand experience design
• Retail store design
• Environmental branding
• Restaurant prototype design
• Grocery concept design

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Brand Experience Design Services: Chute Gerdeman generates revenue by providing holistic brand and environmental design services to retail, restaurant, c-store, and grocery brands. Projects include brand identity design, store design, flagship experience design, scalable prototype development, and fleet roll-out standards. Revenue is project-based and engagements span strategy, design development, and construction support phases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Chute Gerdeman is a professional brand experience design firm that creates retail, restaurant, convenience store, and grocery environments for major consumer brands. The firm delivers strategy and insights, brand and environmental design, and scalable design development and roll-out documentation, translating brand identity into physical store and restaurant experiences that can be executed across single locations or entire fleets.

Product overview

Chute Gerdeman is a brand experience design company operating as part of ASG | Chute Gerdeman that has been helping brands create experiences for over 30 years. Their offering is structured around a 'Think. Create. Scale.' approach: Strategy + Insights (research-driven design foundations), Brand + Environmental Design (immersive brand and environment creation), and Design Development (standards, documentation, and execution support for scaling across locations). The company also offers proprietary frameworks and tools including the Refresh, Refurb, Remodel (RRR) Playbook, Auditory Experience in Retail Report, Grocery of the Future Report, and RFP Playbook. Their content platform 'The Gist' delivers industry insights via newsletter and podcast. Through ASG partnership, they provide store planning and construction services. The company serves retail, restaurant, c-store, and grocery brands including clients such as Altar'd State, GIANT, MAPCO, El Pollo Loco, Xfinity, Custom Ink, Mattress Firm, Rent-A-Center, Krispy Kreme, FAO Schwarz, and many others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Gist: Industry insights newsletter featuring perspectives on retail, restaurant trends, and actionable guides for industry leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Xfinity Store: Silver Award Winner, 2019 Shopper Marketing Effie Awards (Aisle Evolution category)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, key project and content partnership.

• ASG (Asset Strategies Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASG (Asset Strategies Group) is the parent/affiliated company of Chute Gerdeman. The firm operates as 'ASG | Chute Gerdeman,' with Chute Gerdeman's experience design services integrated into ASG's broader portfolio of real estate and brand experience services. Steve Morris is listed as Founder of ASG. The integrated relationship provides expanded capabilities in real estate strategy, brand investment, and operational execution.
• FCB/REDkey projectStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCB/RED (part of FCB/ENERGY) served as a strategic partner on the Xfinity store design project, working alongside Chute Gerdeman. The partnership combined upfront consumer strategy, journey mapping, and overall space design with graphic communication implementation and wayfinding signage to create a unified immersive Xfinity retail experience.
• Boone Oakleykey projectStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoone Oakley, a Charlotte, NC-based advertising agency, partnered with Chute Gerdeman on the Pizza Inn rebranding project. Boone Oakley infused the new Pizza Inn identity with retro-inspired energy, and Chute Gerdeman translated the same design filters to the branded environment, highlighting the neighborhood feel at the root of the brand.
• Akoiocontent partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAkoio is a leading auditory consultancy that partnered with Chute Gerdeman on the 'Auditory Experience Will Shape the Future of Retail' industry report. Bill Schiffmiller (Akoio Founder) and Michael Piskosz (Audiologist/Director of Research) collaborated with Chute Gerdeman's team to research and produce insights on how decibel levels and auditory environments impact brand experiences and employee retention.
• Envirosellcontent partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvirosell collaborated with ASG | Chute Gerdeman and Supermarket Guru on the 'Grocery of the Future Report.' Adam Kavett (Director of Insights and Consulting at Envirosell) contributed expertise on consumer behavior, digital integration, and the layered grocery experience, helping create a comprehensive industry perspective on how modern grocers can meet evolving consumer needs.
• Supermarket Gurucontent partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupermarket Guru (Phil Lempert, Founder & CEO) co-authored the 'Grocery of the Future Report' with ASG | Chute Gerdeman and Envirosell. Supermarket Guru provided industry expertise on grocery trends, consumer shopping habits, and the future of food retail, contributing to the report's three key takeaways on layered experiences, digital integration, and micro-fulfillment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WD Partners: Retail strategy, design, and engineering firm serving restaurants, grocery, convenience, and specialty retail — directly comparable client mix and project types (prototypes, fleet rollouts, retail experience).
• Sparks (Sparks Retail Experience): Retail experience and design agency focused on store concepts, environmental design, and shopper experience for major brands — a direct competitor for the same enterprise retail-design RFPs Chute Gerdeman pursues.
• RSM Design: Retail-experiential design firm specializing in brand experience, store design, and environmental graphics for global brands — directly comparable to Chute Gerdeman in scope, client base, and service model.
• King Retail Solutions: Retail design and brand experience firm specializing in store design, visual merchandising, and prototype development for specialty retail — directly comparable scope and client profile.

Broad incumbents

• Siegel+Gale: Global brand experience and design consultancy delivering customer experience strategy and design — overlaps with CG's brand-to-environment approach for enterprise retail/restaurant clients.
• CallisonRTKL (RTKL / Callison): Architecture and retail design practice within a global AEC firm, with deep retail tenant and brand experience; competes for large-scale retail flagship and prototype projects.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm with significant retail and experience design capabilities — a broader incumbent offering brand strategy and design that can substitute for CG-led engagements.
• Lippincott: Brand strategy and design consultancy that includes retail experience and store design as part of broader brand work for enterprise clients — overlaps with CG's brand-to-environment translation capability.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a large retail practice delivering store concepts, brand environments, and rollouts — broader scope and scale than CG, but overlapping in retail-experience design services.

Emerging players

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep experience in retail and service design — competes selectively with CG on experience-led retail innovation engagements but is broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChuteGerdeman
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ASGChuteGerdeman
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/51426
• Instagraminstagram.com/chute_gerdeman
• Pinterestpinterest.com/chutegerdeman
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChuteGerdeman

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chute Gerdeman