LAS VEGAS, Nev., Jan. 23, 2016 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today the recipients of the NBA Retail Awards, naming the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors the 2014-15 Team Retailers of the Year.  The annual honor, awarded by the league since 2002, recognizes best practices in team merchandise sales and operations.  This year’s winners were announced at the NBA Team Retail Summit and Product Expo in Las Vegas.

The Warriors and Raptors earned the award after an extensive review of all team retailers with criteria including innovative marketing and merchandising programs, breadth of product assortment, customer service, consumer shopping experience, and overall sales success.

The Raptors received the honor for the first time in team history after renovating its Team Store at Air Canada Centre to include advanced retail technology and innovative fixtures and merchandising.  Along with creating limited-edition merchandise to celebrate the team’s 20th anniversary, the Raptors worked with Mitchell & Ness and Global Ambassador Drake’s October’s Very Own (OVO) to introduce collections that produced record sales.

The Warriors celebrate their second win in this category, after receiving the honor following the 2012-13 season.  On the heels of the team’s first NBA championship in 40 years, the Warriors achieved record-breaking sales from the 2015 NBA Playoffs through the start of the 2015-16 regular season by using enhanced point-of-sale technology and expanding its in-market retail presence.  On Jan. 20, the NBA announced that the Warriors continue to rank No. 1 on the league’s list of top-selling teams.

“This year, we are recognizing two very deserving teams for their innovative retail merchandising and marketing practices,” said NBA Vice President, Global Retail Development Brian Keegan.  “Both teams fostered creativity and collaboration to meet consumer demand and provide fans with a wide assortment of new and hot-market products in-arena, online, and in the local marketplace.”