“Now is not the time to be shy, it’s the time to shout about the good things,” stated Warren Lomax, joint managing director of Max Publishing, which owns and organizes PG as well as The Retas greeting card retail awards. “We have been bombarded with nominations from publishers, reps and agents all keen to champion greeting card retailers who really have excelled in the last year while the entries from retailers make fantastic reading proving how well-blessed we are with so many great businesses,” he added.
Retailers can download an entry form from The Retas’ website (www.theretasawards.co.uk/how-to-enter/) and post their entries or alternatively entries can be emailed with supporting imagery/material to PG’s editor Jakki Brown on jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk
The Retas winners will be announced at a wonderful afternoon event to be held at The Grosvenor House Hotel on Wednesday 8 July which will take on a ‘finery of greenery’ theme.
Meanwhile, there have been whoops of joy from those in the gift retailing sector as the finalists of The Greats Gift Retailer Awards 2020, a sister awards programme to The Retas, have been revealed.
“Once again, The Greats Awards have revealed the passionate gift retailers and gift departments who really get behind their shops, their products, their displays, their websites, their marketing, their social media, their communities and their local charities,” commented Sue Marks, editor of Progressive Gifts and Home magazine, a sister publication to Progressive Greetings.
“In a tough retailing environment, they have demonstrated their resilience, with many independents opening new shops over the past year, and all retail finalists showing their entrepreneurial flair in responding to a changing retail landscape,” adds Sue.
The Greats 2020 finalists are…
RETAIL EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2020
Ella Bradbury, shop manager, Forget Me Not, Stubbington
Rita Huston, manager, Paprika, Chippenham
Alex Kingdom, manager, The Barn at The Hollies
Ellie Kennedy-Walker, manager, Hand Picked by Henrietta, Chapel-En-Le-Frith
Gina Pratt, sales advisor and assistant merchandiser, Orange Tree, Darts Farm, Topsham
Touhi Prime, area manager, Lark London
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – LONDON (INSIDE M25)
The Indigo Tree, Streatham and Crystal Palace
InSpitalfields, Spitalfields Market
Northwood Cards and Gifts, Northwood
The Ark, Stoke Newington
Temptation, Temple Fortune
W. A. Green, Shoreditch
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – HOME COUNTIES, SOUTH & SOUTH EAST
All About Rose, Thame
Alligator Pear, Tadworth
Bay Tree Gifts, West Wickham
Five and Dime, Hertford
Metalyka, Stony Stratford and Leighton Buzzard
Zest, Crowborough
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – EAST ANGLIA
Abigails Lifestyle, Ingatestone
Ark, Cambridge
Amore, Woodbridge
Bells of Suffolk, Bungay
Buy The Light, Bury St Edmunds
Little Boat Gifts, Brightlingsea
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – MIDLANDS & WALES
The Celtic Company, Welshpool
Chi Chi Gifts, Lickey
Ian Snow, Machynlleth
Joco, Nuneaton
MOOCH, Olney, St Giles Street, and Towcester (concession: Bell)
Wonder Stuff, Treorchy
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – SOUTH WEST
The Cats Whiskers, Bishops Cleeve; Polkadot, Keynsham
Cilla and Camilla, Beaminster, Bridport, Sherborne
Highworth Emporium, Highworth
Lulu Loves, Stubbington
Paprika, Bath and Chippenham
Swagger, Chipping Sodbury
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – NORTH & NORTHERN IRELAND
Brian Hunter, Limavady
Hand Picked By Henrietta, Chapel-En-Le-Frith
Hares & Graces, Hull
Kemps General Store, Malton and Whitby
Pure Inspiration, Ramsey
Within Reason, Sheffield
INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER OF THE YEAR – SCOTLAND
Ewe & Me + Ewe Too, Grantown on Spey
The Keekin’ Glass, Prestwick
The Old School Beauly, Beauly
Liquorice Tree Gifts, Glasgow
Pippin, Edinburgh
Starlings, Kirkwall
BEST NEWCOMER: SOUTH & WALES
Bill & Berts, Colchester
Ginger Nut, Lynton
HOLD, Brighton
Oliver’s Brighton, Brighton
Sunshine & Snow, Bideford
Raven Lifestyle, Tavistock
BEST NEWCOMER: MIDLANDS, NORTH & SCOTLAND
The Bean Hive, Kettering
The Dotty House, Gateshead
For The Love Of The North, Whitley Bay
Giftilicious with Thorntons, Nuneaton
Peony Lane Interiors, Wombourne
The Wild Ginger, Ansdell
BEST SPECIALIST MULTIPLE GIFT RETAILER
Between The Lines (15 stores)
Brocante (4 stores)
Gifted (4 stores)
Lark (5 stores)
Smart Ideas (7 stores)
Utility (4 stores)
BEST NON-SPECIALIST RETAILER OF GIFTS
Brodie Countryfare, Brodie
The Hollies, Little Budworth
La Cookshop, Seaton Burn
Lanerscost Tea Room, Abbey Farm, Brampton
Loch Levens Larder, Kinross
Overton Gallery, Overton
BEST DEPARTMENT STORE RETAILER OF GIFTS
Atkinsons of Sheffield, Sheffield
Barkers Home, Northallerton
John Lewis & Partners
One Forty, Cranleigh
Selfridges, London
Strickland & Holt
BEST GIFT RETAILER OF JEWELLERY & FASHION ACCESSORIES
Bay Tree Gifts, Wickham
Bijou, Buckie
Greenwood & Co., Saintfield
Jewel, St Andrews
Medusa Gems, Southport
MiMi, Hartley Wintney and Wokingham
BEST LIFESTYLE OR HOMEWARES RETAILER OF GIFTS
Daisy Lanes, Rayleigh
Dear Grace, Colchester
The Emporium Interiors, Clitheroe
Orange Tree, Darts Farm, Topsham
Skinny Whistle, Quorn
White Rhino, Hastings
BEST GARDEN CENTRE RETAILER OF GIFTS
Bernaville Nurseries, Cowley Bridge
Blue Diamond Group
Klondyke Group
Longacres Group
Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, Sidcup
Smith’s Garden Centre, New Denham
BEST MUSEUMS OR VISITOR ATTRACTION GIFT SHOP
Kew Garden Gift Shop, Kew
National Portrait Gallery Gift Shop, London
North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo)
RHS Garden Wisley Gift Shop, Wisley
Science Museum Gift Shop, London
ZSL, Whipsnade
BEST IN-STORE OR WINDOW DISPLAY
The Celtic Company, Welshpool
Cornucopia, Worcester
The Emporium, Clitheroe
Garsons, Esher
Highworth Emporium
Rhubarb Home/Rhubarb Gifts, Malvern
BEST RETAILER INITIATIVE
Highworth Emporium, Highworth (for its Shop Local Christmas raffle and Visa ad initiatives)
The Hollies (for its two pre-Christmas visitor days)
Jo Amor, Tiverton (for its Jo-A-Story online children’s bedtime storytelling initiative)
Joco, Nuneaton (for its Christmas video and Letter To Santa initiatives)
MOOCH, Northampton, Olney, Towcester (for its cark park charges initiative)
Papilio at Heritage, Thornbury (for its Junior Retail and Makaton initiatives)
BEST SUPPLIER MARKETING AWARD
Ashleigh & Burwood
Chilly’s Bottles
Katie Loxton
Joma
Marmalade of London
Stoneglow
Wild Things
Wrendale Designs
BEST SERViCE TO THE INDEPENDENT GIFT RETAILER
Ashleigh & Burwood
Enesco
Gisela Graham
Heaven Sends
Joe Davies
Lesser & Pavey
Nemesis Now
Straits Trading
Widdop and Co
Wrendale Designs
Tickets to both The Greats and The Retas are available from event organiser Clare Hollick e: clare@keystonecomms.co.uk tel: 01733 294524. Tickets can also be reserved online via the Max Box Office.
Top: Retailers still have a week to enter The Retas 2020.
