Retailer of the Year 2012-2013

The Pet Product News International Retailer of the Year award was created more than a decade ago to recognize retailing excellence in the pet industry. Pet Product News International, the pet industry's leading trade magazine, profiles the top Retailer of the Year in its September issue. The winner and a companion are flown to SuperZoo and given accommodations by the sponsor of the contest. He or she is presented with the award at the show.

Eleven Special Recognition award winners are also named in the September issue and profiled throughout the upcoming year. All 12 winners serve on the Pet Product News Retail Advisory board.

Candidates for the various awards are selected from a multitude of applications received from retailers wishing to be considered for this honor. Retailers submit their applications, along with additional materials (photos, videos, event materials, etc.) that help the magazine staff make the best decision. Staff members look for the following criteria: employee training practices, promotion of companion animals and pet adoptions, involvement with service organizations, innovative promotions, effective strategies in the marketplace, community impact and industry impact. 

This year, Pet Product News International received an unprecedented number of applications. With so many amazing retailers to choose from, the editors here at the magazine wished we could have selected more than 12 recipients. And so, for the first time, we also named 11 Retailer of the Year Honorable Mention recipients.

Think you have what it takes to win the Retailer of the Year title? Click here to enter the 2013-2014 contest. The deadline to enter is April 5, 2013.

 All In The Family
Three generations and counting, Tomlinson's owners continue to seize opportunity, embrace change and move with the times.
By Lizett Bond

“You have to change as the market changes, you have to grow.”

This was the counsel offered in 1971 as Tomlinson's Feed and Pets founder T.R. Tomlinson handed the reins over to new owner Liniel Click. Established in 1946, even Mr. Tomlinson could not have predicted the course the one-time chick hatchery would travel to arrive at its current destination. The Click family took his advice to heart, traversing a route that included feed store and wholesale bird business to growing local pet store chain with seven locations and Pet Product News International's 2012-2013 Retailer of the Year.

A family affair, the second generation of Clicks continues a tradition of seizing opportunity and embracing change. Having worked part-time in the business since he was 8 years old, son Scott came on board officially in 1986 after college graduation... Read full story» 

Click here  to view the 2011-2012 winners.