- Arboretum in Cos. Carlow and Wicklow is named National Retailer of The Year
- Luxury women’s shop, Fabiani, in Longford is named National Store of the Year
Awards highlight retail sector despite difficult year.
Wednesday 17th November 2021. Arboretum – with branches in Leighlinbridge in Co. Carlow and Kilquade in Co. Wicklow – has been named National Retailer of the Year in the annual Retail Excellence awards. Fabiani, a luxury womenswear boutique in Longford town has been named National Store of the Year.
The awards were presented at a special ceremony in Dublin. Retail Excellence is the largest representative body for the retail sector in Ireland and the annual awards programme identify outstanding examples of retail businesses across the country. The National Retailer of the Year is the stand-out award presented each year in recognition of an exceptional retail business.
Arboretum is run by the Doyle family. The business was originally based on a ten acre site in Leighlinbridge in Co. Carlow which features a kitchen store, a garden café, home & gift area, furniture area, fashion area and a qualified team of plant experts all under the one roof.
In 2015 Arboretum opened its second store in Kilquade, Co. Wicklow, based on the site of the National Garden Exhibition Centre. The Kilquade shop features a superb plant offering with expert horticultural knowledge alongside a furniture & BBQ shop, garden tools & care area and an outdoor landscaping area together with a café.
Speaking today, Fergal Doyle, of Arboretum said the company was honoured and thrilled to have been named Retailer of the Year. He said, “We are thrilled with this award and we regard it as a wonderful acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication which our team of over 130 people have shown over the past two years. It has been an incredibly difficult period between the pandemic, the various lockdowns and the challenges that people are facing every day of the week but our team has kept going throughout everything and they are the reason we have won this award.”
Fabiani won the coveted National Store of the Year Award. Louise Brennan of Fabiani said the award was a huge boost after a very difficult year: “This has been a really tough year for everyone involved in retail so for us to be named National Store of the Year is such a wonderful honour for all the team here. We put our heart and soul into the business and are trying to create something of real value here in Longford. It is amazing to get this recognition and it will inspire us to even greater heights in the coming months.”
Duncan Graham, Chief Executive of Retail Excellence said that all the winners were a tribute Irish retail; “these awards highlight that despite all the current challenges, the retail sector continues to thrive. All these winners demonstrate the hard work, vision and determination that characterises the best of Irish retail. They are worthy winners and superb ambassadors for the sector.”
The full list of award winners are:
National Retailer of the Year: Arboretum
National Store of the Year: Fabiani
Top5 Awards
- Fabiani
- Arboretum
- Petstop Galway
- Frank’s Place 1860
- Brown Thomas Cork
Ireland’s Friendliest Place: Dunshaughlin
Digital Campaign of the Year: www.mccabespharmacy.com
Ecommerce Retailer of the Year: www.brownthomas.ie
New Ecommerce Retailer of the Year: www.kaliedy.com
Manager of the Year: Karl Fitzgerald, Applegreen
Rising Star of the Year: Saoirse O’Reilly, JYSK
Supplier of the Year: Excel Recruitment
Sectoral Awards:
- Jewellery | Gift Store of the Year: The Kilkenny Shop
- Electronic & Tech Store of the Year: Vodafone Henry Street
- Home | Interiors Store of the Year: Diamond Furniture
- Health | Pharmacy | Beauty Store of the Year: The Source Bulk Foods
- Forecourt | Convenience Store of the Year: Applegreen Santry
- Optician of the Year: Wild Atlantic Opticians
- Restaurant | Coffee House of the Year: Insomnia Shackleton