In a closely fought contest, SPAR Y Maes in Pwllheli was this week crowned the UK’s Convenience Retailer of the Year for 2020 during The Convenience Awards. Convenience retail has been on the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic, ensuring local communities have access to the essential products that they need. Owned by retailer Conrad Davies, the store boasts a tremendous range – covering both everyday necessities and inspirational purchases such as aged meat and fresh lobsters. The store also includes in-store butchery, bakery, and food-to-go counters to ensure maximum quality and freshness.

Tuesday, 29 September 2020, saw the entire UK convenience retail community come together to celebrate the winners of awards during a digital broadcast, organised by conveniencestore.co.uk, Lumina Intelligence and The Grocer.

In total, 23 award winners were announced to an online audience watching the live premiere of the event through theconvenienceawards.com. The awards recognised the very best people, retailers, businesses, and initiatives from across the convenience retail industry.

Conrad Davies, owner at SPAR Y Maes, said: “It’s fantastic to win this award. It’s a complete shock for us, but we’re really pleased. With everyone going through tough times right now, it’s great to have a morale boost like this.”

“It’s a reward for all the staff at the store who have worked so hard over the past six months. None of this would have been possible without the support of the local community. SPAR Partner A.F. Blakemore has also been a tremendous support and a big part in helping our vision for the store come to life”, he said.

SPAR and SPAR stores also took five other prestigious awards during the evening ceremony. They include:

• Best Independent Convenience Store: SPAR Y Maes, Pwllheli
• Best Multiple Managed Convenience Store: SPAR Laceby Lodge
• Excellence in Technology: SPAR Loughbrickland, Co.
• Down Food to Go Retailer of the Year: SPAR Titanic, Belfast
• Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia for Impulse: SPAR

Louise Hoste, SPAR UK Managing Director, added: “We are delighted that four of our stores won top honours at the 2020 Convenience Awards. These SPAR stores fully deserve to be rewarded after all the hard work and effort they have put in to maintaining high store standards, constant investment in technology and innovation and at the same time have kept their local community needs at the heart of the store.”

“I would also like to congratulate all SPAR stores in the UK after winning the Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia for Impulse. Impulse purchases are at the heart of a good convenience store offer. It is great to have received the highest satisfaction ratings from our shoppers across soft drinks, snacks and confectionery categories.”

Source: SPAR UK

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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.