SPAR UK partner Henderson Group has been honoured twice in Business in the Community’s new look Responsible Business Awards for 2020. Both the Wholesale and Technology companies of the partner have been named Responsible Business Champions at the annual awards event which seeks to honour businesses in Northern Ireland “…demonstrating strong, inclusive leadership, who continuously innovate to tackle pressing social issues and repair and rebuild our planet”.

The partner was named a Responsible Business Champion in the Wellbeing at Work category for their Well Aware strategy, while it also took the same honour for the Responsible Digital Innovation Award for its partnership with Gander, the mobile app which helps stores clear more ‘reduced to clear’ food products to lower food waste.

The partner’s Well Aware programme, which was re-launched with a new strategy in 2018, has resulted in a decline in absence rates recorded from January 2018 – December 2019, an excellent staff retention rate and a more engaged workforce which has resulted in increased Group sales of over 9%.

Meanwhile, the Gander app has been supplied to 350 SPAR, EUROSPAR, and ViVO branded stores free of charge, with over 41,000 user downloads of the app and on average, stores are reporting a 5% reduction in food waste.

Sam Davidson, Group Human Resources Director, says this is fantastic recognition for the their companies and their initiatives; “As a Group, our employee wellbeing is critical to our success, and as a family run business, we make the welfare of our teams a priority throughout the year. The Well Aware team’s hard work since relaunching in 2018 has been proven effective in employee satisfaction and staff retention and I’m delighted they have been honoured by Business in the Community.”

Source: SPAR UK
Read more about SPAR UK.

About SPAR UK

The UK became a member of SPAR in 1956 when a group of independent wholesalers was granted the SPAR licence by SPAR International. There are five regional partners in the UK with strategically placed Distribution Centres in each region. A central office, located in London, provides national marketing and buying services for the group and supports the development of the brand.

SPAR has led the convenience market in the UK for many years but has faced increasing competition. Always innovative, the five regional partners have continued to grow the brand. Throughout the UK, a combination of independently-owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores can be found, spanning forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhoods.