NEW YORK, 2015-1-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — Shop.org announced today from Retail’s BIG Show in New York City the winner of the group’s first-ever Digital Commerce Startup Competition. Out of five finalists, each selected in December 2014, Symphony Commerce was selected by several esteemed retail industry leaders as the 2015 winner. The company specializes in enterprise level commerce as a service, and was established in 2010.
The announcement came during a special session in which thousands of retail CEOs, senior executives and other industry leaders gathered during NRF’s 104th Annual Convention and EXPO. The four-day event is currently taking place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York and will wrap up Wednesday, January 14.
As the winner, CEO and Co-Founder Harish Abbott and his company Symphony Commerce will receive a one-year free membership with the National Retail Federation as well as $5,000 and a complimentary registration to Shop.org’s Digital Summit in 2015. Harish will also be introduced to members of the Shop.org board of directors, which includes senior e-commerce and digital executives from companies including Hudson’s Bay Company, Sur la Table, The TJX Companies and Under Armour.
“Retail is changing at lightning speed and many of the innovations we’re seeing today exist because people like Harish followed his dreams to build a company that would so strongly impact our industry, and in this instance, a company that would change the way retailers and brands grow their businesses in the digital space,” said NRF Senior Vice President and Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell. “It was no easy feat selecting just one winner from our outstanding finalists; we look forward to seeing continued success from all of the competition entrants.”
“As the biggest group of digital retailers in the world, having Shop.org present my company and I with this award validates the hard work we’ve put into building enterprise level commerce as a service,” Harish Abbott, ceo and co-founder SymphonyCommerce.com. “By providing the end-to-end commerce infrastructure necessary for companies to grow and compete, we are freeing up brands and retailers to focus on what matters – the merchandise, branding and relationships with customers.”
In December 2014, a team of venture capitalists, prominent retailers, industry analysts and Shop.org board members narrowed down the nominees to five finalists. The five finalists demonstrated the greatest potential to transform the shopping experience or make a positive impact on the retail industry.
The four additional finalists included:
- Guru Hariharan, ceo and co-founder, Boomerang
- David Munczinski, founder, ceo and founder, Brickwork
- Chris Bennett, ceo and co-founder, Soldsie
- Peter Jackson, ceo, Ziploop
Judges of the competition:
- Michael Burgess, president, HBC Digital, Hudson’s Bay Company
- Vicki Cantrell, senior vice president, NRF and executive director, Shop.org
- J. Skyler Fernandes, managing director, Simon Venture Group
- Josh Goldman, general partner, Norwest Venture Partners
- Matthew Kaness, ceo, Modcloth
- Billy May, group vice president, eCommerce, digital and direct-to-consumer, Abercrombie and Fitch
Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world’s leading community for digital retail, offering thought leadership through original research and gold standard events. The community is made up of exclusive networking groups and committees that lead the global conversation surrounding innovative e-commerce trends and digital retail. Shop.org members include some of the world’s largest most respected retail, technology, research, and consulting companies. NRF.com/ShopOrg.
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Kathy Grannis
(202) 783-7971
press@nrf.com
(855) NRF-Press