Art shop draws top award

Art shop draws top award

October 18, 2005

Art shop draws top award

Auckland's top retail shop for 2005 is the French Art Shop in Ponsonby.

This speciality art supply shop has been named overall winner in the Auckland Top Shop Awards 2005 sponsored by The New Zealand Herald and The Aucklander.

The French Art Shop was also a category winner in 2003.

The results of the Auckland Top Shop Awards 2005 were announced tonight (Oct. 18) at a black tie gala dinner in Auckland's Sky City Convention Centre.

Chris Brown, publisher of The Aucklander, says the awards encourage excellence in the Auckland retail sector and reward those who excel with their customer service.

"As part of Auckland's leading newspaper group we are proud to support these awards not only because they encourage excellence in the community but also for the benchmark they provide for retailers.

"The retail industry in Auckland accounts for 35 per cent of all retail in the country so it is important to get it right when dealing with customers. Through our sponsorship we support and encourage these principles."

The overall winner in the Auckland Top Shop Awards is selected from 11 category winners. The 2005 finalists came from more than 300 entries and a record 3,100 public nominations.

An independent panel of judges evaluates nominated stores on customer service, product knowledge, selling skills and staff manner as well as atmosphere, design and layout.

Each entrant is mystery shopped to determine finalists, these finalists are then revisited by 11 retailing experts.

Auckland Top Shop Awards are run by the New Zealand Retailers Association to encourage excellence in the Auckland retail sector and are now in their 18th year.

For more information, go to www.aucklandtopshop.co.nz

ENDS

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