Real heroes wear branded polo shirts

Taking part in the judging for the SLR Above & Beyond Awards, as I did last month, is both a sobering and an uplifting experience. We talk a lot in this sector about how we’re special and about the pivotal role we play in pretty much every community in Scotland – but reading the entries for the Above & Beyond Awards really smashes it home about just how unique local retailing really is.

For a start, it’s the only awards programme I’ve ever been involved in where a few tears are guaranteed. That’s partly down to the way we do the Awards. My colleague Gaelle literally calls every single nominee and spends up to an hour and a half talking to everyone to find out the nature of the heroics they have performed. It takes her weeks. Then the judges gather and we hear in great detail all about some wonderful people going way above and beyond the call of duty.

Virtually every story is a hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck experience. There’s quite a lot of times where judges are stunned into silence. And, of course, there are a few tears. It really is that emotional. And that’s the sobering part I referred to above. You can’t help but think how utterly amazing many of our shopfloor colleagues are – and you can’t help but wonder what it is that drives them to do such incredible things.

What is it that motivates store staff to go to unbelievable lengths to look after customers, colleagues and other members of their community? It’s genuinely inspiring and every year that goes by, the more we start to realise that this kind of stuff is happening on a daily basis across Scotland. We like to think that local retailing is special – but I don’t think we even know the half of it.

Unfortunately, I’ve promised to avoid giving away any spoilers before the Awards ceremony takes place so I can’t go into specifics yet, but take it from me that on the day we will hear some breathtaking tales. And we’ll share them with you in SLR afterwards.

At the end of the day, these stories need to be shared. They need to be shared among the local retailing community, but they also need to be shared wider. Consumers need to understand how important local stores are. And politicians definitely need to have a better go at understanding our sector. We’re not just businesses trying to make profits. We are local people making a massive difference to local communities.

Antony Begley, Publishing Director, SLR