Asian Trader Awards 2009

OVER 1000 people filled the banqueting hall of the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London on Tuesday 3 November at the annual search to find Britain’s best shopkeepers.

Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, was among the public figures, celebrities and senior executives from the grocery industry who paid tribute to country’s finest independent shop owners at the 21st annual Asian Trader Awards.

Regarded by the grocery industry as the top awards for independent retailers, the Asian Trader Awards recognise the elite of the UK’s neighbourhood stores.

Designed to raise standards across the independent retail sector, the awards are organised by leading business magazine Asian Trader, which is published by the Asian Media and Marketing Group Ltd in three languages and distributed fortnightly to over 50,000 shops in the UK.

Entry to the Asian Trader Awards is open to any independent convenience retailer in the country.

Independent shopkeepers, who run newsagents, off-licences and convenience stores, struggle every day with rising crime and intense competition from the giant supermarkets. Yet they manage to bind communities together and enhance Britain’s tradition as a ‘nation of shopkeepers.’

The awards carry the biggest cash prizes in the industry, with a total of £41,000 awarded this year.

Many of the UK’s biggest grocery companies such as Nestlé, Cadbury, PepsiCo, Mars and Warburtons sponsored the event.

Trophies were presented to individual retailers in various categories which rewarded a wide range of retailing skills, including entrepreneurial ability and commitment to customer care, plus the shop considered by judges to be the very best independent store in the UK.

Rajesh Samani, who runs a Budgens store in Bushey Heath, Hertfordsire, won the night’s top prize, the Asian Trader of the Year Award 2009, which carries a cash prize of £10,000.

In his keynote speech, Kalpesh Solanki, group managing editor of Asian Trader magazine praised independent retailers for their sophistication and innovation.

Although small shopkeepers cannot match the buying power of the supermarkets, they can offer customers the convenience of location, opening hours and availability, Mr Solanki said.

Winners 2009, click here