U.S. Retail Industry Innovator of the Year NRF Award Winners 2001-2013

Each year one U.S. retail industry company out of all the multi-unit privately held and publicly traded retail chains is recognized as the "Innovator of the Year" at the National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual convention.

The criteria that the NRF uses to choose its Innovator of the Year winners is not specifically published, but in general, the NRF states that the award is presented to a retail company and retail leader for their use of new, innovative or imaginative techniques. So it might be expected that the winner of this award would be a young leader with a new concept and a fresh outlook about the retail industry.

When the winner of the retail industry Innovator of the Year award was announced in 2013, it was particularly impressive since it was a well-known veteran leader of a well established retail chain. To know that the most innovative retail concepts and and imaginative retail execution came from someone who has pushed the shopping cart around the retail block more than a few times is a testament to the ability of the retail industry to reinvent itself at any moment.

This is a list of the U.S. retail companies and leaders which have received the NRF Innovator of the Year Award in the past decade - for the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The list is arranged by year, with the most recent year first. The Retail Innovator of the Year Awards are presented at the NRF's annual convention, which is generally held in January each year.

NRF Retail Innovator of the Year Award Winners 2001 - 2013:

2013 Retail Innovator of the Year
John McCarvel, CEO
Crocs

2012 Retail Innovator of the Year
John Mackey, Co-founder and CEO
Whole Foods Market

2011 Retail Innovator of the Year
Glen T. Senk, CEO
Urban Outfitters

2010 Retail Innovator of the Year
Tony Hsieh, CEO
Zappos.com

2009 Retail Innovator of the Year
N/A

2008 Retail Innovator of the Year
John Morris, Founder
Bass Pro Shops

2007 Retail Innovator of the Year
Reed Hastings, Founder, Chairman and CEO
Netflix

2006 Retail Innovator of the Year
Scott A Edmonds, CEO, President and Director
Chico's FAS, Inc.

2005 Retail Innovator of the Year
Edward Mueller, CEO
Williams-Sonoma

2004 Retail Innovator of the Year
Lew Frankfort, Chairman and CEO
Coach

2003 Retail Innovator of the Year
Jeff Seaman, President
Rooms To Go

2002 Retail Innovator of the Year
N/A

2001 Retail Innovator of the Year
Maxine Clark, Founder and CEO
Build-A-Bear Workshop

• U.S. Retail Gold Medal Award Winners 2000 - 2010
  
  
• International Retailer of the Year Award Winners 2000 - 2010
  
  
• U.S. Retail Silver Plaque Award Winners 2000 - 2010
  
  
• National Retail Federation (NRF) Website

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