The 2023 Retail Industry Awards night took place on 19 September at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London, hosted by the excellent Paul Sinha.
The Retail Industry Awards have become recognised by many as a spotlight for convenience, grocery retail, independent retailers and entrepreneurial excellence. They are designed to bring together the UK’s most dynamic and innovative convenience and retail businesses.
Panels of leading experts judged the awards and the results contributed to there being 51 finalists from SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across the UK.
On the night, there were an overwhelming 13 wins and 10 Highly Commended awards for SPAR and EUROSPAR stores.
Henderson Retail took three prestigious awards: Community Retailer of the Year – Multiple, Convenience Retailer of the Year – Regional and Forecourt Retailer of the Year – Multiple.
Individual category award wins also went to:
- Chilled retailer of the year – Independent: Lynch’s EUROSPAR Greysteel, Co Derry
- Diversity, equality & inclusion – Independent: SPAR Southport, Merseyside
- Forecourt retailer of the year – Company owned: EUROSPAR Hillcrest, Portrush, Co Antrim
- Fresh produce retailer of the year – Independent over 3,001sqft: SPAR Castlederg, Co Tyrone
- Independent retailer of the year – 3,001sqft to 6,000sqft: EUROSPAR Creightons of Balmoral, Belfast
- Post Office retailer of the year – Company owned: SPAR Mallusk, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim
- Store Manager of the year – Multiple: Samuel McCann, SPAR Malone Road, Belfast
- Store Team of the Year – Company owned: EUROSPAR Doagh, Co Antrim
- Tobacco retailer of the year – Independent: Lynch’s EUROSPAR Skeoge, Co Derry
SPAR UK was crowned Symbol/Fascia Group of the Year following a list of leading convenience groups vying for the top spot on the night.
On winning Symbol/Franchise Group of the Year, judges said: “SPAR scooped the award for best symbol group of the year thanks to an impressive financial record that saw sales growth outstrip that of the convenience sector as a whole. It invested £125m back into the business and was one of only two symbol groups to improve its value perception among shoppers. A £5m marketing campaign boosted the brand’s consumer profile, while two new formats helped bring its stores in line with the latest trends. Another big growth area was own-label, with more than 100 new lines added and sales enjoying double-digit growth.”
One judge added: “SPAR’s reset of its promotional strategy has proven effective and generated healthy sales for retailers, and its support for retailers in terms of growing their business and being involved in communities is clear.”
Another added: “They are thinking ahead on trends and are looking to capture that younger demographic. Their value perception among customers is strong in a very price-sensitive marketplace; they are beating their competitors and are very well positioned for the year ahead.”
On winning at the awards, Ian Taylor, SPAR UK Retail Director, said: “Huge congratulations to all our SPAR and EUROSPAR retailers and stores who were finalists and winners at the 2023 Retail Industry Awards. We are also particularly delighted to win the Symbol/Franchise Group of the Year award.
“There isn’t a better time to recognise this achievement and highlight the great retailers, partners, people, and stores through our entire organisation. As a symbol group, the SPAR family is at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about providing shoppers with a great place to shop, our colleagues with a great place to work and we will continue to strive to be the best local, community, convenience retailers and the leading symbol group in the UK.”
Ian added: “The Retail Industry Awards are so important for convenience businesses to come together and celebrate our fantastic and vibrant industry and help inspire collaboration and innovation across our sector.”
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