NBDA Rebrands America’s Best Bike Shops Program to Bicycle Retailer Excellence Awards
Applications to be accepted April 15th – May 31, 2021
The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) has officially announced a rebrand to their America’s Best Bike Shops Program. The Bicycle Retailer Excellence Awards (BREA) comes following feedback from retailers nationwide. The rebrand comes with a focus on inclusivity while celebrating the diversity in bicycle retail. The program removes all barriers for participation and focuses on cultivating retailer excellence around current and future NBDA programing. The 2021 BREA application will not require payment or NBDA membership and will be available on the NBDA’s website beginning April 15th until the submission deadline of May 31st.
“With a focus on inclusivity, the program unites retailers, suppliers, industry organizations, advocates, and consumers in identifying and highlighting exceptional bicycle retailers across North America,” said NBDA President Heather Mason. “Recipients will be acknowledged and awarded not only for their excellence in retail but their integrity, inclusiveness, spirit, and commitment to grow ridership.”
Retailers who participate in the NBDA’s Bicycle Retailer Excellence Program will have a chance to take a deep look at their current business practices and self-analyze as they complete the supporting application. Recognizing the diversity of retail locations, the application includes sections for retailers to explain what makes them truly unique in retail operations. However, the program was built to be more than the application. The NBDA will deliver corresponding retailer education via a BREA Excellence webinar being held in May. Going through the application and educational materials will be insightful to your business practices, and those retailers awarded the BREA title can be proud to promote the award via their website and in store. There is no cost to participate and the program is open to all retailers, regardless of NBDA membership.
The NBDA is thankful to the many sponsors of the 2021 BREA program. Specialized Bicycle Components USA Marketing Director, Michael Browne commented “At Specialized, we see an extraordinary opportunity to grow ridership, and acknowledging retailers with the best practices and environments to foster that growth is crucial for our entire industry to see as examples for positive change”.
2021 marks the ninth year the NBDA will highlight and award bicycle retailer excellence. New for 2021 the program encourages participation at retailer, supplier, vendor, association, representative and consumer level. United in a common goal to keep consumers engaged in cycling and encouraged to support Bicycle Retailer Excellence, the program evolves to incorporate consumer participation in voting for their preferred retailer of excellence to win the additional “People’s Choice Award”. Three retailers in self-selected categories will be presented these awards at the BREA awards ceremony held at the Big Gear Show in August. In addition to the awards of Excellence and Peoples Choice, participating retailers will also have an opportunity to receive scholarships from SmartEtailing and the NBDA.
“The focus of the program is to unite and identify excellent retailers in several categories,” stated NBDA Development Director Rachelle Schouten. “We see such diversity in bicycle retailers; those with cafes, fit studios, an e-bike focus, or speciality retailers in underserved communities and tourist destinations. The revisions to the program were made to encourage participation across the board so that we can award and highlight hundreds of retailers for their commitment to excellence.”
The Bicycle Retailer Excellence Award, is one of many programs spearheaded by the NBDA in the pursuit of strengthening the specialty bicycle retailer and leading bicycle retail to excellence. The 2021 Bicycle Retailer Excellence Award program is made possible by generous support from sponsors Specialized Bicycle Components, PeopleforBikes Ride Spot, Quality Bicycle Products, SmartEtailing, Marsh & McLennan Insurance, and Outdoor Industry Jobs. Bicycle Retailer & Industry News is the official media partner of the 2021 Bicycle Retailer Excellence Awards. For more information on sponsoring BREA please contact the NBDA here.
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About the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA)
The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) has been here since 1946, a nonprofit organization representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.