Winners of Forecourt Trader Awards for Best Forecourt Innovation 2020 for our Online Store and winners of the Retail Industry Awards for Independent Forecourt Retailer of the Year 2020
January has gotten off to a flying start for our Parkfoot team! Not one, but TWO awards in the bag.
(Insert happy dance here!)
We started off the year by winning the Forecourt Trader Award for Best Forecourt Innovation for our Online Store. Proud doesn’t even come close. We created our online store to help the community in these difficult times and now we’ve landed an award too. Our online store team are thrilled and thank you to all our customers who choose us.
Last week we won an extremely prestigious award from Retail Industry for Independent Forecourt Retailer of the Year. Our team have worked so hard throughout the pandemic and this award really means the world to all of us.
The judges were full of praise for our store:
“consistently high standards that others have strived to emulate.”
“It’s best in class across many departments,”
“I have judged many times over the years, but this is the only 100% I have ever given. For me, David and his team are ticking every single box, and his customers obviously agree…absolutely brilliant!”
“David and his team continue to set the benchmark for roadside retailing. Despite winning multiple awards, the management team haven’t rested on their laurels and have continued to invest in the business. Their commitment to their customers, staff and ensuring the business is continually improving is exemplary.”
If you’ve got some down time and wanted to read in full what made the Retail Industry award us Best UK Independent Forecourt retailer, here it is!
“The 3,000sq ft Parkfoot Spar store at West Malling in Kent is open 24-hours a day, offering its customers a wide range of services including a butcher’s counter, hot food-to-go, freshly squeezed orange juice and freshly brewed coffee. Improvements during the year included the addition of a Smokin’ Bean coffee bar with seating area that increased coffee sales by more than 100%.
The meal for tonight’s offer was revitalised with the addition of Spar’s range of ‘tonight’s tea’ solutions, including premium ready meals, while the store also boasts eight freezers from frozen specialist Cook. Butchery sales increased by 20% during the period, as did food-to-go, which includes pizzas, hot pasta, hand-made sandwiches and roast dinners.
Customer numbers and sales both continued to rise during the year as owner David Charman invested more than £100,000 in updating the business.
The Retail Industry Awards judges were hugely impressed with the quality of the store, with one praising its “consistently high standards that others have strived to emulate.” “It’s best in class across many departments,” he said. Another judge added: “The butchery section looks fresh and inviting and David makes great use of floor space with specialist options including Cook.”
One judge commented: “David and his team continue to set the benchmark for roadside retailing. Despite winning multiple awards, the management team haven’t rested on their laurels and have continued to invest in the business. Their commitment to their customers, staff and ensuring the business is continually improving is exemplary.”
Other judges praised the retailer’s community engagement, staff training, use of digital marketing and excellent store layout, while one concluded:
“I have judged many times over the years, but this is the only 100% I have ever given. For me, David and his team are ticking every single box, and his customers obviously agree, going by the sales figures. Parkfoot continues to evolve and improve, which is testimony to the work put in by David and his team. Absolutely brilliant!”