CHIEF, a direct marketing firm based in Charlotte, NC, and Eugene, OR, and serving the Police, Fire, EMS, and Surveying markets, was awarded 1st Place in the Business Specialty Products - Web Channel category by Multichannel Merchants (ACCM). The award was presented Tuesday, May 22, at the 22nd Annual Multichannel Merchant Awards luncheon, held in conjunction with the ACCM Annual Conference in Boston.
CHIEF has offered online services to its customers since 1998, via its e-commerce Web site CHIEFsupply.com, and recently completed a major redesign of its Web site. The CHIEF Web site was selected for the ACCM honor from a field of 37 Web Channel finalists, with three finalists in the Business Specialty Products category. Other Web Channel award winners were L.L. Bean, The Orvis Co., Harry & David, and Crutchfield. More than 200 entries were submitted in three categories in the overall competition.
The ACCM awards recognize "the best of the best in e-commerce," said Robert M. Lucas, Vice President of Marketing & Merchandising at CHIEF. "We're extremely proud to receive this recognition from our peers in the industry. The Web team, which includes John Procopio, John Kawaguchi, Anthony St. Clair, Eddie Thompson and Phil Primm, did an impressive job in developing a Web site that is both functional and friendly for our customers. We've really shifted gears over the past two years and now we seem to be leading the race."
Founded in 1977 to provide supplies to Police, Fire, EMS, and Surveying/Engineering agencies and firms, CHIEF represents more than 500 manufacturers through its professional sales staff and CHIEFsupply.com. The company also provides a variety of other services to public safety professionals, including grant-writing seminars and assistance with grant proposals. "Our grant consulting service is one of the most important things we've developed for our customers. We not only provide them with great service and products, we also help them find a way to get the funding they need," Lucas said.
