2010 SNEWS® / Backpacker Retailer of the Year awards were presented at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market during an after-show gathering at the Red Door on Jan. 21. Rod Johnson, president of Midwest Mountaineering, in Minneapolis, Minn., was all smiles as he accepted the award for the overall 2010 Retailer of the Year (see image to right — picture left to right are Michael Hodgson, president of SNEWS, Jon Dorn, editor in chief of Backpacker, and Rod Johnson). Johnson and his team also garnered a best-in-class award for community involvement.

This is the second year in a row Midwest Mountaineering has been honored with a Retailer of the Year (ROTY) award. Last year, the store took top honors for encouraging the growth of outdoor sports. This year, as overall winner, Johnson wins an all-expense paid trip to Munich, Germany, sponsored by the ispo trade show, to attend the ispo winter show Feb. 7-10, 2010.

Five other stores were recognized for being best-in-class in each of the following categories:

•     Sustainable business: Dynamic Earth Equipment Company – Springfield, MO
•     Conservation: Great Outdoor Provision Co. – Raleigh, NC
•     Youth involvement: Rutabaga Paddlesports – Madison, WI 
•     Growth of outdoor sports: Appalachian Outdoors – State College, PA
•     Online: Backcountry.com – Salt Lake City, Utah

SNEWS and Backpacker magazine congratulate all of these winners, and all of those nominated. Nine other stores — Backwoods, Campbound.com, Half Moon Outfitters (winner of the 2009 best-in-class award for sustainable business), Mountain Gear, Nantahala Outdoor Center, REI, Pack & Paddle, The Trailhead, and Rock/Creek (winner of the 2009 best-in-class award for online business) made the final 15 in the rounds of judging and will, along with the six award winners, be honored with feature stories over the next few months in SNEWS.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS