Ballymena Butcher takes Neighbourhood Retail Title

Ballymena butcher, K&G McAtamney, has taken the title of Butcher of the Year at the 14th annual Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

Kieran McAtamney collected the trophy during the gala awards ceremony in the Ramada Plaza hotel, Belfast on Friday evening.

This is the country’s most prestigious awards ceremony for the grocery retailing industry. Backed by Neighbourhood Retailer magazine, the 14th annual awards were attended by more than 400 industry professionals who saw NI’s leading retailers vying for prestigious industry accolades.

Speaking after receiving his award, Kieran McAtamney said: ““It’s absolutely fabulous to have won this award. It’s a great boost for the store and the staff – well done to them all!”

Supported by platinum sponsor Bank Machine, the awards were hosted by UTV star Pamela Ballantine and saw Kenny Bradley’s Spar Magherafelt crowned Northern Ireland’s Retailer of the Year 2012.

It was a hat-trick of awards for Kenny Bradley’s stores as they also picked up Neighbourhood Store of the Year (Cat 1) and Training Initiative of the Year before going on to win the biggest award in the industry – the coveted Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year title.

Following the win, Kenny Bradley said: “Words cannot describe how we feel - what a night! I’m so proud of my team who have really lived our values; teamwork, loyalty, honesty, respect and ownership over the past 18 months. We are on a journey to ‘exceed our customers expectations’ and this fantastic award is a massive acknowledgement of our progress so far and a real incentive for us to focus on completing our mission.”

Independently judged by Spotcheck, there were 17 hotly contested categories, including the inaugural Store Manager of the Year category which was awarded to Darren Given of Swift’s SuperValu, Lisnaskea.

Commenting on the success of the awards, Bill Penton, Neighbourhood Retailer publisher said: “We are delighted that we had more that 450 entries this year and the quality of entries just gets better and better.”

He added: “The Neighbourhood Retailer Awards are a showcase of Northern Ireland’s finest independent grocery retailers and create a pivotal industry event that rewards excellence in retailing.”

Commenting on the awards, Paul Hoy, Bank Machine’s area sales manager, Northern Ireland and platinum awards sponsor said: “In an increasingly contactless society, the ‘personal touch’ provided by neighbourhood retailing is on the up. Cash is the life-blood of this service, ensuring customers get swift transactions but also meaningful, human interaction. We are over the moon to see just how many winning entrants into the awards have free to use Bank Machine ATMs within their stores. Bank Machine’s latest statistics show that our ATMs are now attracting in excess of 1,000,000 transactions per month, so we know that cash continues to be king in Northern Ireland.”