Article

NRF announces winners of 'This is Retail' (videos)

Nearly 1 million votes were cast during the contest.

May 30, 2012

The National Retail Federation's "This is Retail" contest has concluded with Honolulu boutique owner Tanna Dang coming out as the victor. She received the $25,000 grand prize for her video describing how her shop Eden In Love highlights a non-profit organization in its store each month. During the Christmas season, the shop provided makeovers for nine women battling cancer.

"Retail creates opportunities to do good and make a difference," Dang said.

As part of its multi-faceted Retail Means Jobs campaign, NRF hosted the contest to find "the best retail stories in America — from marketing geniuses to customer service superstars to small business owners, who are the fabric of every local community," said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

Each contestant submitted a 2-minute video sharing her retail story. A panel of judges narrowed down the pool of 100 entries to the top 20 and posted them on the Retail Means Jobs website, where nearly 1 million votes were cast to choose the winners.

Click below to watch Dang's winning video.

Florida's Kim Williams of The Polka Dot press came in second place, winning $15,000, and Illinois' Susan Kaufman received $10,000 for third place. Watch their videos below.

Also, Jim Adams of Falls Road Running Store in Baltimore won the Judges' Choice Award for his video on how retail powers the economy. (Watch it below.) It received the highest score from the original panel of judges who selected the top 20 finalists in March.