Our competition winners
We were so excited to read the inspirational entries we received from retailers across the nation. Those submitted into our online competition were judged by a panel of industry experts to find the most impactful ideas in retail. The judges described the very top idea as simple and scalable yet highly effective; a powerful idea that stands the test of time.
Big congratulations to our overall winners, Ron and Aruna Patel, who win the top prize of £5,000
The winning idea
After over 35 years of being a self-employed retailer, I can honestly say that many ideas come to the fore when looking at ways to improve business. But the one principle that really stands out for me is making an effort to learn your customers’ names, so that you can greet them personally. This simple idea creates a bond, which becomes a friendship, which in turn brings loyalty and respect. This then passes down through families and generations. And so a bond is created with multiple levels of your customer base, and they in turn reciprocate in kindness. I was once asked to describe my work, and my answer was simple: Mine is the only job I know where I can come to work and chat to my friends all day. Our motto is, “We don't have customers, because everyone who comes into our establishment is a friend, because we're always pleased to see them.” With that philosophy, we always look forward to going to work - to see our friends!
Ron Patel – Competition Winner
Check out some of our runner up ideas!
Amit Patel – Go Local Sandiacre, Nottingham:
“My great idea was to go the extra mile – we do it in our store every day, and we have it written on our tills. We like to help as much as we can, whether it’s taking the groceries to someone’s car or just saying hello and having an extra five-minute conversation with somebody.”
