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.

The Minnesota Retailers Association is pleased to recognize the community of Winona and the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce with its Retail Community of the Year award as part of the 2021 Minnesota’s Retail Champions program.

“Many communities across the state do a great job of supporting retailers, but Winona stands out as a shining example of what can be done when a community works together through the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce,” says Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association president. “It takes true collaboration to try new things and a shared vision to accomplish what Winona has in support of the entire community. We congratulate Winona and the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce, and all of its partners, on being named Retail Community of the Year.”

“We are so proud of how the Chamber, the City, the County, and businesses have come together to support the entire community,” says Christie Ransom, president and CEO of the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve started many new initiatives for the sole purpose of supporting our retailers, our businesses, and every Winona area employee. The team here at the Chamber and all of our partners have been all hands on deck to support the community during some truly difficult times, and we have gotten the job done. While there is always more work to do, as a community leader I am proud to accept this recognition for all of Winona.”

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

Christie Ransom with the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce will accept the award during the Retail Rally event on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, 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.

The Minnesota Retailers Association is pleased to recognize Como Pharmacy with its Customer Commitment award as part of the 2021 Minnesota’s Retail Champions program.

“The team at Como Pharmacy has been doing everything they can this past year to make sure their customers have been served, despite so many challenges,” says Bruce Nustad, Minnesota Retailers Association president. “Their customers depend on them for quality-of-life and in many cases lifesaving medications, and Pao Kue and his very small team have bent over backwards to make sure everyone gets what they need. From curbside, to in-store, to free home delivery, Como Pharmacy has gone well beyond what most people would expect to see—that’s true customer commitment. It’s an honor to recognize the Como Pharmacy team for their outstanding commitment to customers.”

“Our customers, some of which are elderly or non-english speakers, have really needed us to be there for them,” says Pao Kue, pharmacist and owner of Como Pharmacy in St. Paul. “I am proud of the work of the team here and their commitment to making sure every customer gets their medications. Running a neighborhood pharmacy today is difficult, but we do it for our neighbors and our community. We know we are making a difference in so many lives”.  

Como Pharmacy is the sole recipient of the Minnesota’s Retail Champions Customer Commitment award. Eight other organizations will be recognized in other categories such as Retail Employee of the Year, Social Responsibility, Retail Innovation, Best Place to Work, Lifetime Achievement, Retail Community of the Year, Advocate of the Year, and Retailer of the Year.

Pao Kue 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.