Tuesday 18 October 2005
Auckland’s Top Shops Take Top Honours
Winners of 2005 Auckland Top Shop Awards Announced
The winners of the retail industry’s most prestigious awards were announced at a gala dinner held in Auckland on Tuesday
18 October.
Run by the New Zealand Retailers Association, the Auckland Top Shop Awards aim to encourage and promote excellence in
retailing.
Held at Sky City Convention Centre, the black-tie event saw the most celebrated award of Overall Auckland Top Shop 2005
go to the French Art Shop (Ponsonby).
Eight retailers picked up top honours in their respective categories including: New World Victoria Park (Freemans Bay)
as best supermarket; Niche Hair Studio (Parnell) as best start-up; The French Art Shop (Ponsonby) as best specialty
store; Millar and Co–St Heliers Bay Wines (St Heliers) as best specialty food and beverage store; Rodd & Gunn Queen St (City) as best in fashion, apparel and footwear; Occhiali Opticals (Ponsonby) in lifestyle, health and
fitness; Arbuckles (Manukau) in giftware and homeware; and Freedom Furniture (Manukau) in general merchandise large
format.
Rodd & Gunn Queen Street also received the Heart of the City Service Award for best service. Gary Hobbs of Mississippi
(Westfield Pakuranga) received the MYOB Retail Hall of Fame Award for his contribution to retailing.
New this year, the national Westfield Young Retailer of the Year Award was presented to Beth Maughan from Woolworths
Westfield Queensgate in Lower Hutt, while Veronika Maine in Westfield St Lukes was named Best Store in Westfield
Shopping Centre.
The winners of the 2005 Auckland Top Shop Awards were selected from more than 300 entries. Sponsored by the New Zealand
Herald and The Aucklander, the awards were open to all retailers in the greater Auckland region, from Orewa to Pukekohe.
An independent panel of judges evaluated the stores on excellence in customer service, product knowledge, selling skills
and manner of staff, as well as the store’s atmosphere, design and layout.
The judging process took place throughout August and September with each entrant mystery shopped in order to determine
the finalists. Each finalist was then revisited and reassessed by a judging panel of 11 retailing experts across
consulting, design, HR, merchandising, media and training, the identities of which were not revealed until after the
awards were announced.
Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, John Long of Retail Consulting Group said the calibre and quality of the
finalists had been very impressive and it was great to see so many retailers with such high standards in place. “It made
selecting the winners very challenging.”
Long said the judging was also made challenging by the award programme’s emphasis on customer service, with numerous
visits made to each finalist and hearty debate amongst the judges to ensure a balanced decision.
More than 600 retailers attended the Westpac-sponsored gala dinner and partied the night away with entertainment
provided by Verse 3 and MC Frankie Stevens.
Russell Sinclair, Northern Region Manager of the New Zealand Retailers Association, said the annual awards were about
celebrating excellence in retailing and raising the bar.
“Tonight’s winners will provide a benchmark against which retailers can analyse their performance and identify
opportunities for improvement.”
Entrants would also be able to obtain their mystery shop results along with a consultation from mystery shoppers
Fieldforce for a reduced fee, said Sinclair. This independent overview of how their store was perceived would provide a
valuable learning opportunity for entrants.
Sinclair said both the Auckland public who nominated their favourite stores and the retail industry had bought into the
importance of Top Shop.
“Proof of this is the record 3,100 nominations we received this year, the most in the programme’s 18-year history,” he
said.
New Zealand's leading retail trade association, the New Zealand Retailers Association has provided a service to
retailers nationwide for over 75 years.
Auckland Top Shop Awards 2005 Winners:
Overall winner, sponsored by The New Zealand Herald and The Aucklander The French Art Shop, Ponsonby
Supermarket, sponsored by PRG Schultz New World Victoria Park, Freemans Bay
Start-up, sponsored by Electronic Transaction Services Niche Hair Studio, Parnell
Specialty store, sponsored by Five Star Consumer Finance The French Art Shop, Ponsonby
Lifestyle, health and fitness, sponsored by Provenco Technology Solutions Occhiali Opticals, Ponsonby
Giftware and homeware, sponsored by Deltarg Distribution Systems Arbuckles, Manukau
Specialty food and beverage, sponsored by Telecom New Zealand Millar & Co – St Heliers Bay Wines, St Heliers
General merchandise large format, sponsored by Visa International Freedom Furniture, Manukau
Fashion, apparel and footwear, sponsored by Radio Viva 98.2FM Rodd & Gunn, Queen Street
Heart of the City Service Award Rodd & Gunn, Queen Street
MYOB Retail Hall of Fame Award Gary Hobbs, Mississippi, Westfield Pakuranga
Westfield Young Retailer of the Year Beth Maughan, Woolworths Westfield Queensgate, Lower Hutt
Best Store in Westfield Shopping Centre Veronika Maine, Westfield St Lukes
For more information, go to www.aucklandtopshop.co.nz.
ENDS