St. Paul (October 4, 2022) – The Minnesota Retailers Association is pleased to recognize Kendall’s Ace Hardware with its Customer Experience award as part of the 2022 Minnesota’s Retail Champions program.

“Kendall’s Ace Hardware has fulfilled and continues to fulfill its mission to be the friendliest store in town,” said Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association president. “All it takes is about a minute in the store, a few looks up at the unique artwork, a few looks down at the dog and cat, and a second to be helped by a Kendall’s associate, and you know you have come to the right place to have your hardware and houseware problems solved. It’s an honor to recognize and congratulate Ashley, Matt and the entire team at Kendall’s with our Customer Experience award.”

Kendall’s Ace Hardware is one of the recipients of the Minnesota’s Retail Champions Customer Experience award. Ten other organizations will be recognized in other categories such as Retail Manager of the Year, Social Responsibility, Best Place To Work, Advocate of the Year, Building Community Through Retail, Partner of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Special Achievement and Retailer of the Year.

Ashley and Matt Lloyd will accept the award during the Retail Rally event on Thursday, October 6, 2022, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Golden Valley. The event features practical, game-changing, cutting-edge retail innovation strategies and ideas. Retail Rally event information can be found at www.retailrally.com.

Click here to see all the 2022-2023 Minnesota's Retail Champions award winners.

About the Minnesota Retailers Association: The Minnesota Retailers Association promotes, preserves and enhances the retail industry in Minnesota by taking a leadership position in development of public policy and regulatory measures that impact members. MnRA also works to enhance the public image of the retail industry by providing information, services and support that adds value to its members. www.mnretail.org.

Contact: Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (651) 227-6631

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Watch the 2021 Minnesota's Retail Champions video:
https://youtu.be/AHGH6qhDfK0

 

Join the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA) as we recognize nine leading retailers and industry partners at the announcement of the 2021 Minnesota’s Retail Champions.

Winners will accept their awards during the Retail Rally event (www.retailrally.com) on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Golden Valley. Retail Rally is changing the way retailers and their key business partners engage with today's consumer. The event features six 20-minute practical, game-changing, cutting-edge retail innovations strategies and ideas.

“We are proud to recognize nine innovative retailers, communities and partners that are leading the way in connecting with consumers and today’s trends following a vigorous process to identify Minnesota’s Retail Champions,” says Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association president. “The retail industry has a deep impact on Minnesota communities, and these award recipients are truly representative of what is great about retail across the state, how the industry is changing, and what it takes to attract customers today.”

The following is a complete list of the 2021 Minnesota’s Retail Champion Award recipients:

Best Place to Work
Twin Town Guitars, Minneapolis, MN
Read about the award here.

Customer Commitment
Como Pharmacy, St. Paul, MN
Read about the award here.

Lifetime Achievement
Jeff Lindoo, Alexandria, MN
Read about the award here.

Retailer of the Year
AP Design, Marshall, MN
Read about the award here.

Retail Employee of the Year
Shelby Studanski, Frame Minnesota, Eagan, MN
Read about the award here.

Retail Innovation
The Paint Factory, Hutchinson, MN
Read about the award here.

Social Responsibility
Mackenthun’s Fine Foods, Waconia, MN
Read about the award here.

Advocate of the Year
Dave Baker, Willmar, MN
Read about the award here.

Retail Community of the Year
Winona & the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce, Winona, MN 
Read about the award here.             

MnRA started the award process by putting out a statewide call for nominations early in the year.  A panel of peer judges reviewed nearly nine dozen nominations and selected the top nominee in each category. Tickets to the event are $25 online at www.retailrally.com.

The Minnesota Retailers Association is pleased to award AP Design its Retailer of the Year award as part of the 2021 Minnesota’s Retail Champions program.

“Usually when you hit a bump in the road you simply try to avoid that bump in the future,” says Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association president. “But at AP Design, when they hit the pandemic bump they decided to try to fix it for others.  As a retailer with a lot of passion, they put their expertise to work and launched Here For Good MN, a program that generated an amazing $40,000+ for local businesses through t-shirt sales—all at AP Design’s expense. The team at AP Design has some of the biggest hearts you will find among retailers in Minnesota, and in recognition of that we are honored to name AP Design as Retailer of the Year.”

“At AP Design our goal is to help people stand out in the crowd,” say Brian & Nancy Kor, AP Design owners. “We are honored to be recognized as Retailer of the Year. We love doing business in the Marshall area, and our Here For Good MN campaign was our way of thanking the community, supporting local businesses by ‘keeping them here for good’, and frankly staying busy ourselves during the pandemic. We were fortunate to be positioned to put our expertise in people recognition and e-commerce to work to support our neighbors. This was our way of thanking everyone for supporting us over the years.”

“Marshall businesses came together during the rough times during Covid and the Here For Good MN campaign was a shining example of that,” says Brad Gruhot, president of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce. “Marshall is lucky to have Brian and Nancy who had the foresight to roll with a campaign like this to make ends meet for many companies who were not open at 100 percent.”

AP Design was nominated by the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce and is the sole recipient of the Minnesota’s Retail Champions Retailer of the Year award. Eight other organizations will be recognized in other categories such as Lifetime Achievement, Social Responsibility, Retail Employee of the Year, Customer Commitment, Best Place to Work, Retail Community of the Year, Advocate of the Year, and Retail Innovation.

Nancy and Brian Kor will accept the award during the Retail Rally event on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Golden Valley. The event features six 20-minute practical, game-changing, cutting-edge retail innovations strategies and ideas.

Retail Rally event information can be found at www.retailrally.com.