Charles Sparks + Company

What Charles Sparks + Company does

Charles Sparks + Company is a private interior design and consulting firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in Hinsdale, Illinois, specializing in retail store design and planning. The firm serves enterprise clients across three principal segments: luxury department stores (Neiman Marcus, Macy's), museums and cultural institutions (Art Institute of Chicago, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Barnes Foundation, de Young Museum, Field Museum, Gateway Arch), and specialty retailers (Paul Stuart, Best Buy). Its work is concentrated on flagship and large-format retail environments in the United States with selected international commissions including the 420,000-square-foot T Galleria City of Dreams expansion in Macau for DFS Group / LVMH.

The firm's core offering is delivered through a proprietary five-step adaptive design process — Define, Design, Develop, Document, and Deliver — that integrates architecture, space planning, interior design, visual merchandising, brand development, graphic design, and project management within a single studio. Notable technical scope includes master planning the largest shoe department in the world at Macy's Herald Square (39,000 sq ft selling space), a seven-floor Men's Department (180,000 sq ft), and the 420,000-sq-ft luxury retail master plan at T Galleria Macau using urban-planning principles across boulevards totaling 3,280 feet in length. The firm has accumulated more than 30 industry design awards from 1993 through 2016 across A.R.E., Chain Store Age, IIDA, NASFM, RDI, ISP/VM+SD, and ASID bodies.

The business model is project-based professional services: revenue is generated entirely from negotiated design fees on individual client commissions spanning the full project lifecycle from needs assessment through construction administration. There is no productized offering, no disclosed pricing or fee structure, and no self-serve or marketplace channel. The firm acquires work through direct enterprise relationships supported by portfolio credibility, trade publication features, and award recognition. It operates as a privately held company with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or M&A activity, and management team composition is not publicly disclosed. The firm relocated its office in 2019 from Westchester, IL to Oakbrook Terrace, IL, and lists its current operational address at 706 W. North St., Hinsdale, IL.

Name

Charles Sparks + Company

Legal name

Charles Sparks + Company

Website

https://csparksco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Charles Sparks + Company is a private interior design and consulting firm founded in 1989 that specializes in retail store design for luxury department stores, museums and cultural institutions, and specialty retailers, delivering projects through a proprietary five-step adaptive design process.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Interior Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Graphic Design Services (54143)

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Retail interior design
• Store space planning
• Museum store design
• Department store design
• Retail consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Brook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: The company generates revenue entirely through project-based professional design and consulting engagements. Services span the full project lifecycle: needs assessment, strategy, programming, space planning, concept development, interior design, documentation, and construction administration. All revenue is derived from client commissions on specific design projects for retail stores, hospitality spaces, and cultural institutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Charles Sparks + Company is a privately held interior design and consulting firm that provides retail store design, space planning, and related consulting services for luxury department stores, museums, cultural institutions, and specialty retailers. The firm guides projects through a structured five-step adaptive design process covering strategy, conceptual design, design development, contract documentation, and construction administration.

Product overview

Charles Sparks + Company is a retail design and consulting firm founded in 1989, offering comprehensive interior design services for retail environments. The company operates as a single unified service offering centered on retail interior design and space planning, supported by their proprietary 5-step adaptive design process. Their portfolio spans department stores (Neiman Marcus, Macy's), museum stores and cultural retail, specialty stores, and hospitality/corporate office design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Interior Design Services Comprehensive interior design and space planning services for retail environments, delivered through the firm's proprietary five-step adaptive design process covering strategy, conceptual design, design development, contract documentation, and construction administration. Targeted at luxury department stores, specialty retailers, museums, and cultural institutions.
• Retail Design Consulting Strategic and design advisory consulting for retail clients, supporting retail concept development, brand environment strategy, and store planning decisions alongside the firm's interior design engagements.
• Museum and Cultural Institution Store Design Specialized interior design services for museum stores and cultural institution retail environments, addressing the unique retail and visitor-experience requirements of cultural venues.
• Luxury Department Store Design Interior design and space planning services tailored for luxury and upscale department store clients, supporting distinctive brand environments and premium retail experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Designed the world's largest shoe floor at Macy's Herald Square: 39,000 square feet of selling space, 65,000 square feet total within a 2.2-million-square-foot flagship
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DFS Group (LVMH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Charles Sparks + Company served as master space planner and interior designer for the substantial expansion of T Galleria City of Dreams in Macau from 320,000 to 420,000 square feet. The engagement was a partnership with DFS Group, a company of the LVMH Group, to upgrade, re-energize, and revitalize the retail boulevards surrounding the casino complex connecting four hotels, a casino, and entertainment venues. The firm designed the new common areas, vertical transportation, and numerous luxury boutiques.
• Woods-BagotcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Charles Sparks + Company partnered with international architecture firm Woods-Bagot in the master space planning and interior design of the T Galleria City of Dreams expansion project in Macau. The collaboration brought together retail design expertise with architectural capabilities to deliver the 420,000-square-foot luxury retail complex.
• BRPH (Architect for NASA)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCharles Sparks + Company collaborated with BRPH, NASA's Florida-based architect, on the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex store remodel. BRPH served as the project architect while Charles Sparks + Company provided retail design and interior design services to enhance the experiential value of the 12,000-square-foot store.
• DNC Parks and Resorts (Kennedy Space Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharles Sparks + Company worked with DNC Parks and Resorts, the operator of retail at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, on a major remodel of the 12,000-square-foot, two-level main store. The engagement was focused on reinforcing the NASA brand through the presentation and organization of merchandise in an updated retail environment.
• Renzo Piano (Architect)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCharles Sparks + Company designed retail stores for multiple institutions in buildings designed by Renzo Piano, including the Art Institute of Chicago Modern Wing and the Harvard Art Museums. The firm developed retail environments that followed the architect's design vocabulary and building grid systems.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Benoy: International architecture and design firm with notable retail, leisure, and mixed-use practices. Comparable on retail-led international projects (especially in EMEA and Asia), competing for global luxury and tourism-retail mandates.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand and design consultancy with strong retail and brand-environment practice. Comparable in serving luxury and department-store clients where brand and interior design intersect.
• CallisonRTKL: Large international architecture and retail-design practice (now part of Arcadis) with deep retail, hospitality, and mixed-use expertise. Competes with Charles Sparks on flagship department store, mall, and luxury retail projects globally, typically with broader service scope.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with one of the world's largest retail practice groups. Competes with Charles Sparks on large enterprise retail and brand-experience mandates for luxury and department-store clients, but operates at vastly greater scale and offers integrated architecture + interiors + strategy.

Emerging players

• Checkland Kindleysides: UK-based retail and brand-experience design studio known for flagship retail and department-store interiors. Comparable in approach and project scale, though geographically focused on UK/European clients.
• Design International: London-headquartered architecture and design firm specializing in retail, leisure, and hospitality environments. Comparable in client mix (department stores, luxury retail) and project scope, though more EMEA-focused.

Direct peers

• WD Partners: Retail strategy and design firm focused on omnichannel retail environments, including flagship stores and brand experience design. Comparable peer serving enterprise retail clients with integrated strategy + design offerings.
• Chute Gerdeman: U.S. retail design firm specializing in experiential retail environments for department stores, specialty retailers, and consumer brands. Highly comparable to Charles Sparks in client profile, project scale, and store-design focus.
• FRCH Design Worldwide: Cincinnati-based retail and hospitality design firm with deep department-store and specialty-retail client roster. Comparable boutique-to-mid-scale peer for Charles Sparks on enterprise retail interior design work.
• Interior Architects (IA): Global interior design firm with strong retail and brand-experience practices serving enterprise clients. Direct peer for Charles Sparks in delivering integrated retail interiors for luxury and lifestyle brands.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Charles Sparks + Company