SPAR Australia celebrated retail excellence at their annual Gala Awards Dinner. The event was part of the SPAR Australia Trade Show 2023, held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The SPAR Australia Trade Show brought together independent retailers, suppliers, and team members to celebrate the achievements of SPAR over the past year. At the welcome dinner, SPAR Australia Managing Director Lou Jardin presented the loyalty bonus to winning retailers. The initiative has been running for the past 11 years, rewarding retailers for their continued loyalty to the SPAR Distribution Centre and the SPAR Brand. This year, retailers received AU$558,869 (over €330,000), bringing the total to AU$3,884,913 (over €2,300,000) since the programme was first launched. The trade show culminated with the annual Gala Awards Dinner on August 12, with SPAR retailers being recognised for their hard work.

Little SPAR Award

The ‘Little SPAR Award’ was awarded to the retailer family running SPAR Malanda. Introduced in 2022, this award recognises the contribution to SPAR and the independent industry by SPAR Independent Retailers, Bob and Judith Little. The family store, founded by Tom English, has been a vital part of the Malanda community for many years. Michael English was a founding member of the warehouse that now is SPAR. Michael’s son Jeff took over the family business and, with significant re-investment, has grown the store from strength to strength.

Store and retailer recognition

There were two Stores of the Year award winners, with the SPAR Store of the Year going to SPAR Lismore, while the SPAR Express Store of the Year was awarded to SPAR Express Oxenford. Meanwhile, Luke Hanlon of SPAR Maclean won the SPAR Store Manager Award.

As part of the SPAR Australia Retail Awards Programme, store departments were also celebrated for their best-in-class offering:

• SPAR Grocery Award – SPAR Ballina
• SPAR Express Grocery Award – SPAR Express Terrigal
• Dairy / Freezer Award – SPAR Urunga
• Fresh Food Award – SPAR Carina
• Food To Go Award – SPAR Express Oxenford

The Community/Partnership/Foundation (CPF) Award went to SPAR Winston. This store has fully embraced the CPF concept and is a great example for the SPAR  network. The aim of CPF is to improve the retail culture throughout the network, the stores’ local community, and for the SPAR Brand to become the first choice for Independent Retailers.

Congratulations to all nominees and the award winners this year.

Source: SPAR Australia

Read more about SPAR Australia

About SPAR Australia

SPAR began trading in Australia in 1994. The current company was formed in 2006. In late 2010, Jardin Investments Pty Ltd, was granted the license. The company licenses and supports independent retailers to develop the brand, with company-owned stores also operating. In addition, it provides a range of services through its Distribution Centre which was modernised in 2022.