PRESS RELEASE
Retail Excellence Announce Ireland’s Top100 Stores
Retailers from around the country in every industry sector have today been named as the Top100 Stores in Ireland by Retail Excellence, the largest retail industry representative organization in Ireland.
The Top100 stores are part of the Retail Excellence Awards, which were established in 1997 to promote best practice and encourage high standards in the Irish retail industry and are now the largest and most prestigious of its kind in Ireland. The Awards, will take place on Saturday, November 9th in the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney. Former Store of the Year winners include Willow (Ennis), Garvey’s SuperValu (Tralee), TileStyle (Dublin), Applegreen (Dublin), O’Briens Wines (Limerick and Dublin) and Greenacres (Wexford).
David Fitzsimons, Group Chief Executive of Retail Excellence commented, “There were almost 700 entries nationwide and as with other years we are delighted with the quality of applicants this year. The very high standard of service, customer engagement and display among Irish retailers was very evident which made selecting this year’s Top100 particularly difficult. I want to commend all who entered this year and in particular, I want congratulate the Top100 stores for making it through. Those named as Top100 finalists have what it takes to shine through and be recognised as the best retailers in the country”.
Joe Barrett, Chairman Retail Excellence, COO and Co-Owner, Applegreen PLC said: “The Retail Excellence Awards are about recognising and rewarding retail excellence. High standards are particularly important given the 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 keeping businesses open, retail workers in jobs and our town centres vibrant which in turn will re-engage with citizens and customers alike. We look forward to going through the process with our members and continuing to drive standards in retail in this country.”
Hubert O’Donoghue, General Manager of awards sponsors AIBMS said: “With the announcement of the Top100 stores in Ireland, AIBMS would like to send our congratulations to all the retailers involved. We recognise their commitment to superior customer service and the hard work and attention to detail that goes into each submission so well done to all. The very best of luck to the stores who have achieved the Top100 status and we look forward to seeing you over the coming months on the road to the AIBMS Retail Excellence Awards 2019.”=
About Retail Excellence:
Established in 1995, Retail Excellence is owned by the members, for the members. We are an organisation which invests in innovative and exciting learning, market intelligence, human resources services, Government representation and member networking initiatives. Retail Excellence has over 2,000 leading retail companies in Ireland. Our members are the most progressive and innovative retailers. Retail Excellence is by far the largest retail industry body in Ireland.
Editors Notes:
As part of the Top100 selection process, all store entrants were visited by a mystery shopper, with those exceeding service and standards criteria making it to the Top100 stores. The Top100 will now be invited to a private briefing with Echochamber, a creative retail agency who tracks global retail trends, where they will be presented with the 10 pillars of Retail Excellence and will be given time to prepare a submission showing evidence they meet those 10 pillars.
Echochamber will then consider the submissions and will proceed to selecting the Top30 stores which will be announced on September 22nd. The Top30 stores will then be rigorously tested before being whittled down to the Top 3 finalists and winners in sectoral categories.
Contact: Tel 065 6846927