NRF’s America’s Retail Champions program celebrates small retailers who are exceptional champions for retail and the communities they serve.
Advocating on behalf of small businesses is no small feat, but the U.S. small retailers selected as honorees of the America’s Retail Champions program make it look easy. With honorees from Massachusetts to Hawaii (and everywhere in between), this program, sponsored by Affirm Inc., celebrates their dedication to retail and their communities.
The honorees will be showcased at the 2024 Retail Advocates Summit on July 24-25 in Washington, D.C., where they will meet with lawmakers and share their stories at The Retail Experience.
Of the 44 honorees of this year’s program, five have been named as finalists and one will be named as the winner at a special dinner on July 25. As we approach this exciting event, we’re sharing the hallmarks of each finalist and why they are considered an America’s Retail Champion.
Neil Abramson
ECi Stores
Leominster, Mass.
“Being an America’s Retail Champion means I am the voice carrying small retailers’ messages to policymakers,” says Neil Abramson, owner of ECi Stores, a group of consignment stores in Leominster, Mass.
Abramson has been an active member of NRF’s advocacy team and Small Business Retail Council for nearly a decade. He has a reputation for always answering the call to advocate and using his voice to connect and build relationships with lawmakers. “I’m passionate about retail, I’m passionate about my community and I’m passionate about making sure my message gets to policymakers,” he says.
Over the years, Abramson has been a key force in affecting change on policies including credit card swipe fee reform and small business pandemic relief by participating in NRF events such as the 2023 Small Business Fly-in and hosting lawmakers at his store.
Notably, Abramson empowers other retailers to advocate and has built a community to share information among his peers through his You’re Not Alone Running This Store YouTube channel. “Bring a seat to the table, and let us create a better America,” he says.
Blake Garfield
Bedrooms and More
Seattle, Wash.
Bedrooms and More began as a waterbed retailer in the 1970s by Blake Garfield’s father and has continued to grow with the Garfield family and local community over the last 50 years. The family has been active retail advocates for nearly two decades, and Garfield distills the importance of advocating for their business and countless other small businesses into six words: “A rising tide raises all ships.”
Garfield’s work has grown from addressing issues at the state level with Washington’s Department of Revenue to advocating for legislation supporting injured workers and engaging on credit card swipe fee reforms at the federal level.
“Policymakers need to know that small retailers — although not flashy or huge individually — are the lifeblood of your communities,” he says. “We are the creators, the innovators and the employers that will reinvest in the communities we occupy.”
Garfield is doing just that through a local nonprofit he runs; Bedrooms and More leads the Wallingford Parade, the longest-running event at Seattle’s annual Seafair Festival. For the last two years, he has made it free for any local business to promote itself and provides trailers to decorate as parade floats.
Joseph Kimray
B & W Hardware Co.
Wake Forest, N.C.
“I came into retail because my wife’s family owned a local hardware store. It was the best decision of my life,” says Joseph Kimray, owner of B & W Hardware Co. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, B & W Hardware Co. has gained prominence in the community, and Kimray has become a veteran advocate.
A dedicated member of NRF’s Small Business Retail Council, Kimray also serves on the Board of Directors for both the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association.
When something is important to Kimray, he shows up. He regularly participates in visits to Washington, D.C., to advocate in favor of the Credit Card Competition Act and attends drive-ins to the North Carolina state capital of Raleigh to connect with lawmakers on issues important to him. “Building relationships with the people who can truly affect change in our industry is the best way to keep our needs at the forefront of the conversation,” he says.
Kimray is passionate about building up and helping other retailers. “I came into this business with little retail knowledge and leaned on many others for guidance and advice. I try every day to give back to other retailers what was given to me in those early years of my retail journey.”
Hamilton Perkins
Hamilton Perkins Collection
Los Angeles, Calif.
“We started with trash and turned it into treasure,” says Hamilton Perkins, founder of Hamilton Perkins Collection, a socially conscious retailer that crafts upcycled bags and accessories. HPC’s award-winning bags are made from recycled plastic water bottles, pineapple leaf fiber and billboard vinyl. Low waste processing rates led Perkins to initiate chemical and bio experiments to develop new waste processing techniques that make his products more valuable.
The science behind upcycling is complex, but Perkins excels at breaking it down into digestible nuggets of information. “My business is essentially storytelling — how we got our product from a waste stream and turned it into something wonderful,” he says. The process of communicating his message is compared to a marathon, but personalizing every interaction and product is how he creates community.
“I have always been a believer that following your passion and listening to yourself are critically important when you are setting out to create something,” Perkins says. This belief has led him to collaborate with the Department of Energy to improve access to sustainable materials, win a 2023 Black Ambition Prize and receive a HUD Community Development Block Grant.
“True magic happens when you turn others into believers,” he says, “and get them to advocate on your behalf.”
Patti Riordan
The Smoke Stack Hobby Shop
Lancaster, Ohio
“I’m honored to be in the company of other inspiring and dedicated retailers whom I both admire and learn from,” says hobby shop owner Patti Riordan, who was introduced to NRF’s advocacy network at a time when the industry was facing its greatest challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic.
She and her husband Don were the first participants in NRF’s Virtual Store Tour program, hosting then-representative Steve Stivers on a virtual visit of their store to demonstrate the steps they took to keep customers safe and the importance of keeping retail open.
Riordan has also been an outspoken advocate for credit card swipe fee reform, having authored an op-ed in her local newspaper and participating in a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol alongside Credit Card Competition Act sponsors Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “Advocacy is important — it reminds communities and policymakers of where we need help,” she says.
To learn more about the 2024 NRF America’s Retail Champions finalists and honorees, visit our landing page.
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