McLeish, the independent convenience store owned and run by retailer Scott Graham in the town of Inverurie in Scotland, was this week named Convenience Retailer of the Year at the Convenience Retail Awards 2016, organised by The Grocer and sister publication Convenience Store.
Graham impressed the judges with tremendous standards and expertly honed points of difference within the confines of the 1,500 sq ft store.
Food to go represents 15% of sales, with all products made in store, including sandwiches, curries and macaroni. Half the products on sale are local, and sales are up 13% year on year.
Convenience Store editor David Rees, who chaired the judging panel, said: “McLeish represents everything that is great about modern convenience retailing with a mouthwatering food range, genuine points of difference in the offering and all the major categories delivered expertly in a relatively confined store footprint.
“Scott’s efficient use of space and commitment to product quality makes McLeish a worthy overall champion in a year where all the award contenders were of an exceptional standard.”
Other major winners on the night (March 17) included Costcutter Farnworth, Bolton, which was named Best Independent Store, Welcome Marchwood - a franchise store of the Southern Co-op _ which won Best Multiple Store and Costcutter Ellon in Aberdeenshire, which took the accolade of Best Large Store.
In addition, McBride’s Spar store in Omagh, Northern Ireland, won three of the product category awards up for grabs, with Malcolm’s Nisa in Tile Hill Coventry picking up two. Bay Bashir, who runs Belle Vue Convenience in Middlesbrough under the Lifestyle Express brand, was named Retailer’s Retailer of the Year, while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Raju Patel of Premier Eldred Drive Stores in Orpington, Kent.
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