Store manager wins major award

Sam McNabney, Ballymena Mart and Aurelie Moralis, Zoetis visited David Anderson on his farm at Garryduff Road, Ballymoney to view the Surecalves he is taking to Ballymena Mart.

Ian Elliott, manager of McCool’s Supervalu Ballymoney, won the coveted Store Manager of the Year Award at the Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer Awards 2016.

After undergoing rigorous independent judging, including an extensive interview with an expert panel, Ian overcame world-class competition from throughout the island of Ireland to win the prize.

Set in the fabulous DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Dublin, on Thursday, September 15, and hosted by Irish Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige, the awards celebrated the finest convenience retailers from across Ireland north and south.

Accepting his award, Ian said: “I’m absolutely delighted with this award. It’s all about the staff – if you have good staff then you are always going to do well.”

Category sponsor for Store Manager of the Year was Solv-X, representing parent company FIFO. Their managing director Colm O’Neill said: “It’s great to be involved in this category as we know many of the finalists personally. SuperValu Ballymoney is an exceptional store, and Ian is an equally exceptional manager. When you walk into the store, it’s clear the highest standards are met, so we’re delighted Ian has won.”

Ian’s latest accolade came within months of his store earning a Gold Award in the world-wide Investor’s In People Awards - an unprecedented achievement for Northern Irish retail.

This year’s awards followed Ireland’s biggest retailing conference of the year, which took place in the same venue earlier that day.

A focused Trade Exhibition, meanwhile, took place alongside the daylong conference, with over 70 exhibitors displaying some of their latest services and technologies.

Bill Penton, publisher of Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer, welcomed the calibre of support and entries for this year’s awards.

“These incredibly successful awards reflect the strength of Ireland’s forecourt and convenience industry,” he said. “The sector has truly made a quantum leap in terms of standards and ideas, and is clearly one of the most innovative and exciting industries to be involved in at this time.”

Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer is Ireland’s number one trade publication for the retail and forecourt industry. Its annual awards are judged by an independent panel from Spotcheck and regarded as a key event.