Last month’s SLR Awards saw Racetrack claim the top award on a night that celebrated the very best of Scottish local retailing.
It was a night to remember for many of Scotland’s finest local retailing businesses with the cream of the industry gathering to celebrate the 24th annual Scottish Local Retailing Awards, with Scottish wrestling legend and TV personality Grado as a very lively host.
Shamly Sud and family’s Racetrack claimed the coveted Scottish Local Retailer of the Year title in addition to the four awards that their stunning store in Wishaw won on the night. The judges were simply blown away by a store that had “rewritten the rule book” for local retailing. (Full store profile on p36.)
The store triumphed in four of its eight shortlisted categories: Confectionery, Soft Drinks, Vaping and New Store.
It was also a successful night for the ground-breaking David’s Kitchen business which claimed three awards, two for its Glenrothes store (Food To Go and Fresh & Chilled) and one for its Kirkcaldy outlet (Scottish Brands).
In a rare break with tradition, Premier Dunbar was named joint winner of the New Store of the Year award, as well as collecting the Off Trade award for former sommelier Shiva Kumar.
Moira Dean and her team at Premier DUSA reclaimed their Sustainability Retailer of the Year award for the third year in a row. Among the other winners, Morrisons Daily gathered its first-ever SLR Award with the beautiful Highland Fuels store in Balfron claiming the refit of the Year prize, while Natalie and Martin Lightfoot of Londis Solo Convenience in Baillieston deservedly won this year’s Community Retailer award.
The evening also saw the presentation of two special awards, with the Sadiq family named as recipients of a Special Recognition Award after celebrating 40 years at the leading edge of local retailing.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Adbul Majid, described by the judges 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”.
