Rathwood wins Store of the Year,beats Arnotts and Harvey Nicks

05Nov12

Rathwood took home the Store of the Year (> 10,000 feet) Award at this year’s Retail Excellence Ireland Awards in partnership with Barclaycard.

The Awards were presented on Saturday night (3rd November) by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins at a gala event held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway. Hosted by TV and Radio personalities, Karen Koster and Anton Savage, as ever, the Awards were a sell-out and were attended by more than 500 representatives of the retail industry in Ireland. The Awards are the biggest event in the Irish retail industry calendar.

Speaking at the event, President Michael D. Higgins said, “Award ceremonies like this evening give me great faith in the ability of our country to rise above current adversities and create new realities.

The talents of our people combined with our strong sense of community spirit, inclusiveness and partnership are key strengths which will serve us well in delivering on the limitless possibilities that the Irish people are capable of achieving”.

Addressing an audience of over 500 retailers the President acknowledged, “As business people, you will be all too aware of the hard realities facing employers and employees” and continued “The budgetary and austerity readjustments in recent years have clearly impacted on household incomes with the result that retail sales have fallen dramatically. Retail is on the front line and the first to suffer the effects of the recession”.

The President highlighted the importance of the retail sector saying “It is important, however, to remember that the retail industry continues to be a huge part of our national economy, not least in the very valuable number of jobs it provides in every townland and community in the country. As an industry employing over a quarter of a million people, it directly impacts on the day-to-day lives of all our citizens and contributes so much to our national life.”

David Fitzsimons, CEO, Retail Excellence Ireland added, “I want to commend all of the retailers who entered this year’s Awards. I particularly congratulate the Awards finalists and winners. The highest standard of service, customer engagement, display and levels of investment amongst Irish retailers made choosing this year’s winners particularly difficult. These Awards are about recognising and awarding excellence. In a market with very selective consumers, recognition as an industry leader will be of significant value.”

“High standards are particularly important given the very severe challenges currently facing Ireland’s retail industry. It is clear from the quality of this year’s entrants that the retail industry is playing its part in trying to keep businesses open and over 255,000 people employed in retail in jobs.”

Retail Excellence Ireland is the largest retail industry group in Ireland with 11,000 store members employing 110,000 people. Over 600 stores entered this year’s Awards. Other Award winners on the night included:

National Company of the Year – The Loop, Dublin Airport

National Website of the Year – www.easons.com

Manager of the Year – Liam Coady, Nestor’s SuperValu Oranmore Town Centre, Galway

Rising Star of the Year – Louise Almond, Sam McCauley Chemists, Carlow Shopping Centre, Carlow

ENDS

 

Note to Editor:

 

The President’s speech is available on www.retailexcellence.ie

 

Full results from the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards 2012

 

National Store of the Year 2013 – The Food Store, Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris, Mayo

 

Best Store (under 1,000sq.ft) – The Irish Whiskey Collection, The Loop T2 Dublin Airport, Dublin

Best Store (1,000-2,500sq.ft) –McGovern’s, Bedford Row, Limerick

Best Store (2,500-5,000sq.ft) – The Food Store, Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris, Mayo

Best Store (5,000-10,000sq.ft) – The Kilkenny Shop, Nassau Street, Dublin

Best Store (+10,000sq.ft) – Rathwood, Rath, Tullow, Carlow

 

National Company of the Year – ARI | The Loop, Dublin Airport

 

National Website of the Year – www.easons.com

 

Manager of the Year – Liam Coady, Nestor’s SuperValu, Oranmore Town Centre, Galway

 

Rising Star of the Year – Louise Almond, Sam McCauley Chemists, Carlow Shopping Centre, Carlow

For further information contact:

Aoife Sweeney, Retail Excellence Ireland – 087 6670534

David Fitzsimons, Retail Excellence Ireland – 087 2535482

About the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards

The Retail Excellence Ireland Awards in partnership with Barclaycard recognises Ireland’s best retail stores, companies, people and websites. This is the 15th year of the industry awards which command over 600 entries annually. The awards function is to drive retail excellence in Ireland’s largest industry – Retail.

 

About Retail Excellence Ireland

Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) is the largest retail industry trade body in Ireland. REI aim to enhance the consumer’s retail experience by developing top class retail standards and skills, and promoting a vibrant and competitive world class retail industry in Ireland.

Retail Excellence Ireland involves 1,000 leading retail companies who operate over 11,000 stores in the Irish market. REI is a not for profit organisation which invests in innovative and exciting learning, market intelligence, commercial services, Government representation and member networking initiatives.

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Tags: Anton savage, James keogh, Karen Koster, president michael d higgins, Rathwood, retail excellence awards