Shop.org recently named RangeMe as the winner of its "Digital Commerce Startup of the Year." The announcement was made during the "Retail Digital Summit" in Dallas.
After being named a finalist in July, RangeMe, an online marketplace that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers, was tabbed by a group of retail industry leaders with the top honor.
RangeMe will receive a $20,000 prize, a free one-year membership to the National Retail Federation, and complimentary registration for Retail’s "BIG Show 2017" in New York City and for Shop.org’s "2017 Digital Summit" in Los Angeles.
The winning startup also will have a chance to pitch 50 top digital retail and technology executives at a 2017 meeting of NRF’s Digital Council. In addition, it will be introduced to the competitions judges and Shop.org Board of Directors.
“Each year, this program aims to find promising rising stars who have what it takes to make a significant impact on the digital retail industry," says Artemis Berry, VP, Digital Retail for Shop.org and NRF. "It’s companies like imageSurge, Netra and RangeMe that push the limits to make change in our industry. We are incredibly excited to see what is in store for RangeMe, and believe that they have the potential to bring retailing to the next level.”
Berry says they will continue to build the marketplace to help retailers with category review and product discovery process, aiming to give retailers the right tools to be successful in the marketplace, helping them along their journey to success. "The product mix is about emerging brands, which really resonate with today’s consumer," she said.
“I’m so happy to be named the winner today and I look forward to building the RangeMe marketplace and continuing to provide retailers with the right tools to be successful,” says RangeMe CEO and founder Nicky Jackson. “The successful group of finalists and winners for this award today and in the past is a great testament to Shop.org recognizing the fact that startups are the future, and where new ideas are breeding.”
In August 2016, a team of NRF members named three finalists for the award. Next year’s competition is set to launch in the spring 2017, and the winner will be named at the 2017 Shop.org Digital Summit in Los Angeles.
The two additional finalists were Richard Lee, CEO of Netra Inc., and Oleg Vyadro, CEO of imageSurge.
Judges for the competition included:
Pano Athos, founder & managing director, XRC Labs
David Brussin, founder & executive chairman, Monetate Inc.
Bryon Colby, senior VP, digital commerce, Cornerstone Brands Inc.
Angela Kapp, president, Kappcorp
Ken Seiff, managing director, Beanstalk Ventures
About Shop.org, NRF and representative retailers:
Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation which is the world's leading community for digital retail, offering thought leadership through original research and gold standard events. As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s This is Retail campaign highlights the industry’s opportunities for life-long careers, how retailers strengthen communities, and the critical role that retail plays in driving innovation.