The winners of the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores’ (NZACS) annual retail and supplier awards were announced in a virtual AGM last week.
Dave Hooker, Executive Director, NZACS said it was great to finally be able to announce the winners and that they’re very much looking forward to getting together and celebrating next year.
Taking out the Supreme Supplier award was Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, with National Business Manager – Petroleum, Stephen Fielder, accepting the award on the company’s behalf.
“First off, a big thank-you to my team, it is a really cool piece of recognition for all the hard work and effort you’ve put in over the last year. And for the passion that you show for your customers, to our field sales team and our distribution teams, that are a big part of the service that we provide.
“Like a lot of others, we have been working in some pretty challenging environments in the trade over recent months, but we continue to find ways to add value to our stores, and also to the retail partners.”
Winner of the Best Retail Group for Store Execution – Regional was NPD, who also took out the award last year. Louise Mitchell, Senior Category Manager NPD, said excellent store execution is something the company prides themselves in.
“Taking out this award for the second year running is a great honour. We look forward to challenging for the National award once we get retail established in the North Island.”
Over the past year, NPD has opened a further two retail sites – NPD Lower Queen Street in Nelson and NPD Geraldine.
“We also have one currently under construction in Christchurch which is due for completion in late January 2022. We have completed an upgraded of all our Café digital signage to a larger format screen which really highlights our exceptional Café offer!”
Mitchell also highlighted the importance of NZACS in supporting the industry.
“NZACS plays an essential part in supporting our industry. It’s fantastic to have such a wealth of knowledge and expertise amongst the board members.”
Taking out top spot in Best Retail Group for Store Execution – National was bp, with bp Retail Operations Manager New Zealand Christian Potappel recognising the important role the frontline team play in executing promotions and ensuring the stores look fantastic every day.
“This is very much a team award. We have worked incredibly hard on our collaboration between stores and our office teams to ensure that we bring every offer to life for our customers as intended and are very proud that this effort is recognised by our industry, suppliers and partners.”
During the ceremony, Hooker also announced the new retail committee members.
“A very warm welcome to Tracey Fookes from Tip Top who is joining the managing committee as the newest supplier representative. Tracey received strong support from members, and we look forward to working with her.”
Hooker also thanked Brian Woodcock of Fonterra, who is stepping down this year, for his service and support over the past few years.
