Proudly announcing Nova’s new ownership and era
Chicago, IL, March 31, 2021 – You wouldn’t think that a global pandemic would inspire taking on a new business. But, for two women it’s an opportunity that’s long overdue. Nova Retail Group, an experience design firm, was formed in 2010 as a Portsmouth, NH, division of a construction company based in Madison, WI. After COVID shut the country down in March 2020, Nova’s president Linda George and vice president Jennifer Cherry were offered the option to take over the division as their own business, now Nova, LLC. After decades of hard work in this industry, George and Cherry saw that it was time to apply their passion from the owner’s seat.
Through her 25 years as a sales professional, Cherry has mastered the art of listening mindfully. “There’s a fine line between hearing the words and understanding what’s really needed,” she explains, “by focusing on the person speaking while applying our insight to fill in the gaps, we make sure we are on the same page about a project’s goals and objectives. Often times, the client’s vision is a bit blurry and we are there to help guide them to a solution they love.” In her determination to build and cultivate rapport with clients and prospects, Cherry has collected many long-standing relationships along the way. Since she came on board with Nova three years ago, she has been the purveyor of happiness making sure customers are always proud of the outcome of Nova’s work.
While Cherry handles the art of listening mindfully, George is in the art of creating purposefully. She transitioned into retail design and branding after working almost a decade in interpretive museum design, where she developed a penchant for telling visual stories. Applying that in her work now, “I see each brand we work with as its own unique story and will study and develop it until its personality comes alive in a space for the customer to play with,” says George, “people love stories they can bring in as part of their own, so the environments we create immerse them in the brand and provide meaningful opportunities for customers to interact and elevate their connections emotionally.” George has been Nova’s Creative Director since its inception.
Nova is a multi-disciplinary design firm serving clients with branding, merchandising, experience and architectural design. Through close collaboration with clients, Nova creates complete and unique experiences for their customers. “I am very impressed with how they truly capture the spirit of our brand while creating an atmosphere that is fresh, innovative and different than anything we have done in any of our branches before,” says Smart Financial VP of Marketing Strategy, Susan Chapman. In their new roles as owners, Cherry and George won’t stop at just elevating brands and making stores look better, but are determined to shape cultures so customers embrace brands on a different and more personal level.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Jennifer Cherry at 773-742-5507 or email at jcherry@novaretailgroup.com.