Scott Johnson, president and founder of Certified Retail Solutions of Dover, was named the 2015 U.S. Small Business Administration’s NH small business person of the year. Between 2011 and 2014, the company grew revenue 90 percent and now employs 90 people. Its clients include Carter’s clothing, Yankee Candle Company and F.Y.E.
The company works with retailers and service providers around the nation to improve and extend the value of their technology including selling point-of-sale technology and inventory management systems nationwide.
Jeff Brown of TD Bank says, “Scott’s passion is his business and he is very good at it. What really sets him apart is his desire to share his success with others.”
In business for over four decades, Johnson started acquiring and developing real estate in northern NH in 1985 and started Dixville Notch Realty. When the real estate market collapsed at the end of the 80s he moved to the Seacoast and worked for Zero One Distributors (a computer distributor) as a salesperson. He eventually became director of International marketing and quickly grew a multimillion dollar pipeline of business in the European marketplace. He started SOS Parts LLC, DBA Certified Retail Solutions, with a partner in 1990 and took full control in 1993. He has since slowly grown the company from a parts company to one that also provides services to meet the evolving needs of retail businesses.
He is also active in the community, sitting on the board of directors of the Dover Business & Industrial Development Authority.
Johnson became an advisor to NextChoice, a Dover-based kiosk software company where he has helped direct their sales strategy. In 2012, NextChoice CEO, Bill Shaheen and Johnson formed a new company and acquired the assets of RedDotNet, a California-based kiosk design and manufacturing company. They have since moved the RedDotNet operations to NH where they have begun the early stages of integrating kiosk manufacturing at their Dover facility.
Current Issue - April 2024