CSA honors Breakout Retailer Award winners
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Chain Store Age honored five dynamic and growing retail and restaurant brands at its annual Breakout Retailer Awards presentation, which was held at CSA’s SPECS 2017 Conference, in Kissimmee, Florida.
The Breakout Retailer honorees for 2017 were Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker. The awards were sponsored by Paint Folks, a division of Academy Service Group.
“The awards are designed to recognize innovative retail and restaurant concepts that are on their way up … brands that have crossed the “newbie” line, and are on track for growth,” said CSA editor-in-chief Marianne Wilson during the event.
Executives from the five winning brands were on hand at SPECS to accept their awards, and to share insights into their companies at a special Q&A session. Representing their companies were: Aaron Walters, chairman and CEO, Altar’d State; Dave Bolen, CEO, Bentley’s Pet Stuff; John Dikos, VP of partnerships, MOD Pizza; Ryan Nelson, VP of retail, Sugarfina; and Kelly Radford, VP, head of development, Warby Parker.
Here is a look at each of the winning concepts:
Altar’d State: A Young women’s apparel retailer combines a bohemian fashion sensibility, affordable prices and a distinctive store experience with a deeply ingrained mission: to change the world for the better.
Altar’d State has 73 stores, with 15 to 20 new ones on tap for this year.
Bentley’s Pet Stuff: Dedicated to healthy nutrition for dogs and cats, Bentley’s Pet Stuff is positioned in the fastest growing segment of the billion-dollar pet food industry: natural foods. Its smaller-sized, neighborhood store format and focus on customer service has won it a growing following.
Bentley’s currently operates 65 stores, with plans to reach a total of 90 to 100 locations by yearend.
MOD Pizza: From the husband-and-wife team that founded Seattle Coffee Company, MOD Pizza is one of the pioneers of the fast-casual, artisan-style pizza trend and one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the nation. With a purpose-driven culture, MOD is committed not only to being a cool place to eat, but an inspired place to work.
With some 200 locations, MOD plans to open some 100 new units this year.
Sugarfina: Featuring gourmet sweets made by artisan candy makers from around the globe, Sugarfina is a luxury candy boutique for adults. It made the jump from online to offline with style, with stores as luxe and beautiful as the candies on display.
Sugarfina has 23 freestanding stores along with in-store shops at Nordstrom, and Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols in the United Kingdom. It expects to open another 12 locations this year.
Warby Parker: In coming up with a radical new model for selling and buying eyewear online, Warby Parker helped pioneer a new category: retail disruption. It’s carried that same theme over to brick-and-mortar, with stores that effortlessly meld the best of online and offline retail — in spaces unique to each locale.
The company has 47 stores coast to coast, and plans to open a minimum of 25 more this year.
Chain Store Age honored five dynamic and growing retail and restaurant brands at its annual Breakout Retailer Awards presentation, which was held at CSA’s SPECS 2017 Conference, in Kissimmee, Florida.
The Breakout Retailer honorees for 2017 were Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker. The awards were sponsored by Paint Folks, a division of Academy Service Group.
“The awards are designed to recognize innovative retail and restaurant concepts that are on their way up … brands that have crossed the “newbie” line, and are on track for growth,” said CSA editor-in-chief Marianne Wilson during the event.
Executives from the five winning brands were on hand at SPECS to accept their awards, and to share insights into their companies at a special Q&A session. Representing their companies were: Aaron Walters, chairman and CEO, Altar’d State; Dave Bolen, CEO, Bentley’s Pet Stuff; John Dikos, VP of partnerships, MOD Pizza; Ryan Nelson, VP of retail, Sugarfina; and Kelly Radford, VP, head of development, Warby Parker.
Here is a look at each of the winning concepts:
Altar’d State: A Young women’s apparel retailer combines a bohemian fashion sensibility, affordable prices and a distinctive store experience with a deeply ingrained mission: to change the world for the better.
Altar’d State has 73 stores, with 15 to 20 new ones on tap for this year.
Bentley’s Pet Stuff: Dedicated to healthy nutrition for dogs and cats, Bentley’s Pet Stuff is positioned in the fastest growing segment of the billion-dollar pet food industry: natural foods. Its smaller-sized, neighborhood store format and focus on customer service has won it a growing following.
Bentley’s currently operates 65 stores, with plans to reach a total of 90 to 100 locations by yearend.
MOD Pizza: From the husband-and-wife team that founded Seattle Coffee Company, MOD Pizza is one of the pioneers of the fast-casual, artisan-style pizza trend and one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the nation. With a purpose-driven culture, MOD is committed not only to being a cool place to eat, but an inspired place to work.
With some 200 locations, MOD plans to open some 100 new units this year.
Sugarfina: Featuring gourmet sweets made by artisan candy makers from around the globe, Sugarfina is a luxury candy boutique for adults. It made the jump from online to offline with style, with stores as luxe and beautiful as the candies on display.
Sugarfina has 23 freestanding stores along with in-store shops at Nordstrom, and Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols in the United Kingdom. It expects to open another 12 locations this year.
Warby Parker: In coming up with a radical new model for selling and buying eyewear online, Warby Parker helped pioneer a new category: retail disruption. It’s carried that same theme over to brick-and-mortar, with stores that effortlessly meld the best of online and offline retail — in spaces unique to each locale.
The company has 47 stores coast to coast, and plans to open a minimum of 25 more this year.