Current Student Competitions
The 4th Annual ACRA Charrette will be hosted by the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business,
Monday March 8 through Saturday March 13, 2010.
IMPORTANT DATES:
January 25, 2010: Last Day for Application Submission
February 1, 2010: Notification of Final Selects
February 15, 2010: Last day for Fee Payment
Download the Information Flyer 
.doc | 
.pdf
Students click HERE to register!
Past Student Competitions
2009 ACRA Undergraduate Student
Retail Analysis Competition: Location Analysis
The fourth annual ACRA Undergraduate Student Retail Analysis Competition was held in conjunction with the Spring 2009 conference, in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2009.
Congratulations to our winners!
First Place - View paper (.doc)
Travis Harmon,
Nicole Flanary,
Jennifer Bobbitt,
Stephanie Parker
(East Carolina University)
Second Place - View paper (.doc)
Amber Atkins,
Katie Mozingo,
William Drescher,
Diven Patel,
Patrick Tatum
(University of Alabama at Birmingham)
Third Place - View paper(.doc)
Natalie Flessland,
Laura Hammer,
Julie Hirshey
(Michigan State University)
The 3rd Annual ACRA Charrette took place on Tuesday, March 17th to Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at the University of Florida – David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research, Florida.
Client Company:
Ron Jon Surf Shop
2009 Challenge:
To develop a business plan for opening a new store in Destine, FL (marketing / communication / merchandising / financial plan) and design a retail environment that embodies the brand image of a retail client and optimizes the opportunities that Ron Jon Surf Shop can provide in a new location.
Participants:
A total of 42 selected students in multi-disciplines (marketing, retailing, business administration, finance, merchandising, product development, interior design) from 12 universities (University of Florida, Indiana University, University of Arkansas, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Georgia Southern University, Florida State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Albright College, Michigan State University, Tampa Art Institute, Ryerson University in Canada and Brunel University in UK)
Congratulations to the winning teams!
1st Place: Team Orange - View presentation (.pdf)
Laura Santiago – University of Florida (Business Administration)
Lauren Conner – Albright College (Fashion Merchandising)
Paola Cruz - Georgia Southern University (Merchandising)
Stephanie Becerra - Ryerson University (Retail Management)
Jia Yun Fei – University of Wisconsin-Madison (Finance)
Shannon Struth - University of Florida (Interior Design)
James Wall - University of Florida (Interior Design)
2nd Place Teams:
Team Yellow - View presentation (.pdf)
Team Blue - View presentation (.pdf)
Team Red - View presentation (.pdf)
Team Green - View presentation (.pdf)
Team Pink - View presentation (.pdf)
Morris Mayer Dissertation Awards
Congratulations to the 2008 Winners:
First Place:
Kelly Green Atkins (katkins2@utk.edu), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Title: THE SMART SHOPPING CONSTRUCT: SCALE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Youn-Kyung Kim
Second Place:
Hyun-joo Lee (hlee23@utk.edu ), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Title: TECHNOLOGY BASED SELF-SERVICE KIOSK IN RETAILING: AN OPTIONAL CHANNEL FOR SERVICE DELIVERY
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ann E. Fairhurst
The Third Annual ACRA Undergraduate Student
Retail Analysis Competition: Location Analysis
Students competed by selecting a new site for a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise store and developing
a business plan to support their site selection.
Congratulations to this year's winners!
1st Place
California State University-LA (Selected Site: Fashion Valley, CA)
View paper (.doc)
Marlena Baldonado
Ashley Hardwick
Ken Houang
Nancy Moreno
Mark Norashkarian
Boilam “Maggie” Trinh
Sponsoring faculty: Dr. Shirley M. Stretch-Stephenson
2nd Place
University of Florida (Selected Site: Aventura Mall, Miami, FL)
View paper (.doc)
Joshua Early
Sponsoring Faculty: Dr. Scott Fay
3rd Place
Winthrop University (Selected Site: Boston, MA)
View paper (.pdf)
Jessica Mancz
Jessica Richardson
Evan Russo
Kevin Gardner
Sponsoring faculty: Barbara K. Fuller, Ph.D.
The 2nd Annual ACRA Charrette took place on Tuesday, March 25 to Saturday, March 29th, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario.
Congratulations to the winning teams!
1st Place: Team Red
View presentation (.pdf)
William (Bill) Chan - Ryerson Interior Design
Jacqueline Tran - Ryerson Interior Design
Kristen Cole - Georgia Southern University
Sylvia Borek - University of Florida
Avani Chheda - Ryerson Retail Management
Thrisha David - Ryerson Retail Management
2nd Place: Team Green
View presentation (.pdf)
Amy Barbour - Ryerson Interior Design
Tiffany Lee - Ryerson Interior Design
Laura Evans - University of Kentucky
Elizabeth Knapick - Albright College
Vanessa Brancaleoni - Ryerson Retail Management
Erica Frederick - Ryerson Retail Management
Charrette Video Recap
Click here to view a video of hightlights from the 2nd Annual ACRA Charrette
1st ACRA Charrette
Sponsored by:
A Charrette is an intense, interdisciplinary activity in which students are placed in diverse teams to solve a complex problem. The 1st ACRA Charrette took place on Wednesday, March 21 to Sunday, March 25th, 2007.
Congratulations to the winning teams!
1st Prize: Team Pink
View presentation (.pdf)
Maggie Williams, Auburn
Ashley Ferguson, Georgia Southern University
Joel Schriver, Ryerson University (Retail)
Hesba Qadri, Ryerson University (Retail)
Kelli Miller, Ryerson University (F.Comm)
2nd Prize: Team Red
View presentation (.pdf)
Maria Valentine, Albright
Chris Wilson, Georgia Southern University
Tammy Yiu, Ryerson University (F. Comm)
Susan Coffin, Southern New Hamphshire U
Neth Phin, Ryerson University (Retail)
Charrette Video Recap
Click here to view a video of hightlights from the 1st Annual ACRA Charrette
The Second Annual
American Collegiate
Retailing Associations Student Retail Analysis Competition
Thank you for your students submissions to the Second Annual American
Collegiate Retailing Associations Student Retail Analysis Competition.
We have just completed the review process and are ready to announce
the results. (Click the winning student's name to read their paper.)
First place: Ms. Emily Barbero - Xavier University, Cinncinnati.
Faculty supervisor, Dr. David Burns.
Second place: Katy Mullis - Oregon State University.
Faculty supervisor: Dr. Minjeong Kim
Third Place: Mr. Alex Villeneuve - Xavier University, Cinncinnati.
Faculty supervisor, Dr. David Burns.
Each submission was double blind-reviewed by two independent
reviewers.
Our final decisions were difficult due to the high quality of the
submissions. Please be sure to thank your students on our behalf and
encourage them to enter again next year. Thank you to all our
reviewers!
Carol Kaufman-Scarborough
Rutgers University School of Business
Doreen Burdalski
School of Business Administration, Albright College
Vanessa Brantley
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
ACRA Student competition co-chairs