Sparc Awards 2001

DSN Retailing Today, Sept 17, 2001

AND THE SPARC AWARD GOES TO...

This year's Supplier Performance Awards by Retail Category (SPARC) was once again a Who's Who of mass retailing. Leading vendors and merchants from hundreds of companies convened last month at two separate venues--Soft Lines in New York on Aug. 8 and Hard Lines in Chicago on Aug. 13--to recognize performance excellence in a total of 57 product categories, and to honor the invaluable partnerships forged between suppliers and retailers.

Vendor of the Year awards went to Angelo LaGrega, president of mass market for VF Jeanswear, in soft lines, and Keith Minton, president of The Hoover Company, in hard lines; each award was presented at its category's respective ceremony.

In addition, top retail achievement awards were presented in Chicago, including: Retailer of the Year, Tom Coughlin, president and ceo of Wal-Mart Stores Division; Specialty Retailer of the Year (tie) Larry Montgomery, vice chairman and ceo of Kohl's; Specialty Retailer of the Year (tie) John Eyler, chairman, president and ceo of Toys 'R" Us. Joe Ettore, chairman and ceo of Ames, was inducted into DSN Retailing Today's Retail Hall of Fame.

The fifth annual 3M Innovation Award for outstanding performance based on new store-prototype designs and merchandising innovations was presented to Meijer, whose new signature series" supercenter prototype adds, among other things, a drive-up pharmacy window and a Video Game Zone to an in-store shopping experience enhanced by a new series of graphics and signage. The 197,000-sq.-ft. format, which Meijer calls its 1.9 version, is smaller than the previous prototype, which ran as large as 250,000 sq. ft.

All SPARC winners were selected by retail committees that voted for leaders in both hard and soft line categories. Names were submitted by executives from leading mass retail companies.

SPARC

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

SOFT LINES

* Chairman Denis Lemire president, coo, Ames

* John Guild vp, store merchandising, Target

* Lois Mikita senior vp, gmm, merchandising, Wal-Mart

* Lorna Nagler senior vp, gmm, apparel & jewelry, Kmart

* Don Smith vp, fashion, Zellers

HARD LINES

* Chairman Denis Lemire president, coo, Ames

* Bruce Dinan vp, hard lines & pharmacy, Zellers

* Gordon Erickson senior vp, gmm, Wal-Mart

* John Guild vp, store merchandising, Target

* Gary Hillermann senior vp, gmm, hard lines, ShopKo

* Michael London executive vp, gmm, Best Buy

* Bob Verdisco president, IMRA

SOFT LINES

JEWELRY

1. Advance Watch

2. M. Fabrikanl

3. Oro America

FASHION ACCESSORIES

tie

1. Accessory Network

1. Pacific Connections

2. Fantasia

FLOOR COVERINGS

tie

1. Maples

2. Beaulieu

2. Mohawk

WOMEN'S ACTIVEWEAR

1. Sara Lee/Hanes Her Way

2. Mr. Noah

3. Cheval

TABLETOP

1. Barth & Dreyfuss

2. Town & Country

3. Gibson

HOSIERY

tie

1. Americal/Peds

2. Kayser Roth

2. L'eggs

BATH PRODUCTS

tie

1. Allure

2. Springs

2. Stylette

MEN'S SPORTSWEAR

1. VF/Wrangler

2. Fruit of the Loom

3. Sara Lee/Hanes

INTIMATE APPAREL

tie

1. Sara Lee/Bali

2. Bestform

2. Burlen

INFANTS AND TODDLERS

tie

1. Happy Kids

1. Kids Headquarters

2. Worldwide Apparel

BED PRODUCTS

tie

1. Beco Industries

1. Springs

2. WestPoint Stevens

GIRLS' SPORTSWEAR

tie

1. Cherry Slix

1. Kids International

2. VF/Rider

BOYS' SPORTSWEAR

1. VF/Wrangler

2. M. Hidary

3. Kids International

MEN'S ACTIVEWEAR

1. Sara Lee/Hanes

2. M. Hidary

3. Hampton

WINDOW TREATMENTS

tie

1. S. Lichlenberg

2. Guilford

2. Louis Hornick

WOMEN'S SPORTSWEAR

1. KAYO of California

2. VF/Wrangler

3. Sutton Creations

HARD LINES The SPARC program contains two hard lines awards: SPARC (SP) and Silver Circle (SC).

ACTIVE SPORTS

SP. Wilson

SC. Rawlings

AUTOMOTIVE

tie

SP. Axius

SC. Kraco

SC. Meguiars

BATH CARE

SP. Unilever

SC. Dial

BEAUTY AIDS

tie

SP. colgate Palmolive

SP. Procter & Gamble

BEVERAGES

SP. Pepsi cola

SC. Perrier Water

BOYS' TOYS

tie

SP. Bandal

SP. Hasbro

CAMPING AND FISHING

SP. Coleman

SC. North Pole

CANDY

SP. Hershey

SC. M&M/Mars

ELECTRIC FLOOR CARE

SP. Hoover

SC. Eureka

ELECTRONIC ACCESSORIES

SP. Gemini Industries

SC. Recoton Corp.

EXERCISE EQUIPMENT

SP. Icon Health & Fitness

SC. Bollinger

GIRLS' TOYS

SP. Mattel

SC. Gigo Toys

GREETING CARDS

SP. American Greetings

SC. Hallmark

HARDWARE AND DIY

SP. Rayovac

SC. Bulldog

HOME STORAGE

SP. Newell Rubbermaid

SC. Lee Rowan

HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

tie

SP. S.C Johnson

SC. colgate

SC. Reckitt

PHOTOGRAPHY

SP. Kodak

SC. Fuji

PRE-RECORDED HOME VIDEOS

SP. Buena Vista

SC. Universal

PRESCHOOL TOYS

SP. Fisher Price

SC. Leap Frog

RTA FURNITURE

SP. Sauder

SC. O'Sullivan

SCHOOL AND HOME OFFICE SUPPLIES

SP. Mead

SC. Binney & Smith

SEASONAL

SP. Santa's Best

SC. Dan Dee

SEASONAL CANDY

SP. Hershey

SC. M&M/Mars

SMALL KITCHEN ELECTRICS

SP. Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex

SC. Salton

COMPUTER HARDWARE

SP. Hewlett-Packard

SC. Belkin

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

SP. Philips Consumer Electronics

tie

SC. Panasonic

SC. Thomson

EDUCATIONAL TOYS

SP. Leap Frog

SC. V-Tech

JUVENILE FURNITURE

SP. Graco

SC. Safety First

JUVENILE PRODUCTS

tie

SP. Kimberly-Clark

SP. Procter & Gamble

LAWN AND GARDEN

SP. Schultz

SC. Hayes

OUTDOOR LIVING

SP. Char-Broil

SC. Fiesta

OTC MEDICATIONS

SP. Johnson &Johnson

SC. Whiteball

PAINT AND WALL COVERINGS

SP. EZ Paint

tie

SC. Nice Home

SC. Rustoleum

PERSONAL CARE APPLIANCES