Shamly Sud and family’s Racetrack chain roared to victory at last night’s SLR Awards (4 June), taking home the coveted Scottish Local Retailer of the Year title in addition to the four awards that its new store in Wishaw won.
SLR Publishing Director Antony Begley said the Sud family had “rewritten the rule book” for convenience retailing.
Hailing their approach as “big, bold and banging,” Begley said the family’s “unique vision is backed up by a huge commitment to investing in their stores and creating not so much convenience stores as mind-blowing retail experiences. There’s nobody else in the UK doing what they do.”
Racetrack Wishaw (Premier) triumphed in four of its eight shortlisted categories: Confectionery, Soft Drinks, Vaping, and – in a rare tie for the SLR Awards – New Store.
The judges were unable to separate it from Premier Dunbar, which also won the Off-Trade Retailer of the Year Award for former sommelier Shiva Kumar.
David’s Kitchen Glenrothes (Spar) also celebrated a brace of wins, for Food-To-Go and Fresh & Chilled. This marks the third year in a row Kyle Fernie’s store has taken the Food-To-Go title.
It was a similar story in the Sustainability Retailer of the Year category, with Moira Dean and her team celebrating Premier DUSA’s hat trick of consecutive wins.
The evening also saw the presentation of two special awards.
The Sadiq family, which recently celebrated 40 years in the industry, were the recipients of a Special Recognition Award for consistently keeping their stores at the leading edge of local retailing – no easy feat.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Adbul Majid, described by Begley as: “An absolute stalwart of the industry, a hugely successful retailer, a driving force at the SGF, and one of the most engaged retailers in Scotland.”
The SLR Awards was once again held in the Radisson blu hotel in Glasgow. It was hosted by Scottish wrestling legend and TV personality Grado, whose on-stage antics had the audience in stitches.
Visit the SLR Awards website for a full list of winners.
