CKS Voted 2011 Retailer Of The Year

CKS was recently voted retailer of the year by Canoe and Kayak Magazine. Pretty cool eh? There's a whole lot of paddle shops out there in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are massive e-commece franchises with brick and mortar locations in every state, and others are smaller shops that cater to local walk in traffic. So how did CKS get voted top dog? What's the deal? We got in touch with Nick Hinds from C+K to find out more about this award.

Here are some cool facts that we found out:

• Canoe & Kayak Magazine is in their 38th year of business. They have an enormous circulation and certainly are the largest print publication in the world of paddlesports.
• The retailer award has been given out for the past 26 years. Colorado Kayak Supplywon the award in 2005, 2007 and now in 2011.
  
• Retailer of the Year –An award voted on by industry companies and vendors whose products are sold on a storefront or retail level across the world. Each contact the publisher Jim Marsh and Advertising Director (Nick Hinds) have in our client list is polled to see who they think has provided the best service to the industry and end consumer throughout the year.
  
• Canoe and Kayak has over 198,000 readers per issue. Subscriptions are just $19.99 for 6 issues over one year!
• I spoke with Earl Richmond, an owner of CKS, and he said that "it's an honor to be chosen as the retailer of the year, because the award is voted on by our manufacturers. These companies sell to much larger dealers, who spend much more money. They appreciate the CKS style of business and dedication to growing the sport in a positive manner."