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22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

8 Mar 2024

Daniel Blackham, editor of industry magazine BikeBiz, has been writing about his experience of completing the Cytech technical one qualification at training provider Spokes People in Milton...

6 Mar 2024

Cytech partner Activate Cycle Academy, the largest and most recognised training provider of bike maintenance and technical training courses to the UK’s cycle industry, recently welcomed a...

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

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Outdoor Shops encouraged to enter the Best Small Shops competition!

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The annual search to find Britain's Best Small Shop is back for 2019, a competition managed by the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC). This year focuses on consumer engagement and how independent retailers promote all that is special about their businesses to the local community and consumers at large.


Celebrating personal commitment, innovation and community engagement, the Best Small Shops competition has proven successful in recognising the contribution of independent retailers on the UK's high streets and shopping parades. The 2018 competition had "by far the biggest impact of anything we have been involved in before" - said 2018 winner, Rosamund de la Hey of The Mainstreet Trading Company.


This year small shops within the outdoors industry are being encouraged to enter by the IRC to represent the outdoor sector and celebrate local outdoor shops around the UK. Last year's competition saw many shops within the outdoor industry reach the shortlisted 25 shops that attended the reception in the House of Commons. One of which was Outdoor & Travel from Weston Super Mare which stood out among competitiors by using recycled products, ethical suppliers and holding open evenings for the scout groups and Duke of Edinburgh groups.

Enter the competition

Location for Best Small Shops competition announced


The IRC have confirmed the Best Small Shops competition reception will be held in the House of Commons later this year on the 5th November. The competition closes at 8am on Monday 9th of September and a shortlist of the most impressive applicants will be invited to attend the competition reception in the House of Commons Terrace Pavilion on the 5th of November, where they will have the opportunity to meet with trade representatives and other shortlisted retailers, before the winner and runners up are announced.


For 2019 competition entrants will be challenged with promoting the benefits of their retail offering to consumers with the initial selection process being voted on by the general public at indieretail.uk.


The most successful applications selected over 10 weeks of consumer voting will go forward to an industry panel and formal review to select the shortlist for the reception event. Competition entrants will need to succinctly showcase their proposition to consumers, outline areas of community engagement, alongside innovation and development plans for their business over the coming years.

Best Small Shops Weekly Vote Results

Stay updated with the Best Small Shop consumer rankings by visiting the page here! Encourage your consumers to vote for you by promoting your entry both in-store and online which can be found under your listing on the directory here. Current standings for the consumer voting as of this week can be seen in the image below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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