A HAIR salon in Festival Place is the biggest winner at the shopping centre's awards ceremony for the third year in a row.
Hair Lab was awarded top spot in four categories of the 2020 Festival Place Gold Retailer Awards.
It won in the categories of staff member of the year (Sing Hock Pwa), fashion and health & beauty retailer of the year, independent retailer of the year and store of the year, whilst manager Gemma Ockenden was runner-up in the manager of the year poll.
Its the fifth year the Gold Awards competition has been held, and saw more than 2,000 customers vote online for their favourite retailer and star employees at the shopping centre.
It was also the first year that there was an Essential Retailer of the Year category to recognise those stores who were able to serve the community during the two lockdowns.
Jewellery store Pandora was named National Retailer of the Year and was runner-up in the Store of the Year and Fashion and Health & Beauty Retailer of the Year categories. Manager Bianca Payne won Manager of the Year, and Summer Wheatley was runner-up in the Staff Member of the Year category.
Build a Bear was voted Specialist Store of the Year, and Festival Street Kitchen picked up Food & Beverage Retailer of the Year.
The Special Recognition Award went to Nicole at Nationwide, with Mark Jackson at Stagecoach runner-up. New for 2020, this award recognises those going the extra mile to serve the community in these challenging times and was voted for internally by Festival Place Retailers.
Festival Place Business Performance Manager Rachel Carter said: “What fantastic winners and runners-up we have in our fifth annual FP Gold Awards!
“This year has been tough for everyone, and the 2020 awards have been more important than ever in recognising the efforts our amazing retailers have made to keep Festival Place safe for all our loyal customers.
“During the early days of lockdown, the M&S Grocery Team were hard at work making sure that vulnerable customers could shop in store during the dedicated hours, with well-stocked shelves and increased safety measures. The staff kept their morale up and made great efforts to ensure the shop was made safe and clean.
“All of our stores have faced so many obstacles throughout 2020, and we are so proud of the way they have risen to the challenge.
“The new Special Recognition Award highlights the fact so many staff members have gone that extra mile to help our community this year, and our well-deserved winners Nicole and Mark Jackson”
“We’d also like to thank all those customers who took the time to vote for their favourites - their opinions matter to us, and it’s nice to show our retailers how much their efforts are appreciated.”
The full list of winners and runners-up are:
Manager of The Year
Winner – Bianca, Pandora
Runner up – Gemma, Hair Lab
Staff Member of The Year
Winner – Sing, Hair Lab
Runner Up – Summer, Pandora
Special Recognition
Winner – Nicole, Nationwide
Runner Up – Mark, Stagecoach
Fashion and Health & Beauty Retailer of the Year
Winner – Hair Lab
Runner Up – Pandora
Entertainment & Technology Retailer of the Year
Runner Up – Vue Cinema
Specialist Retailer of the Year
Winner – Build a Bear
Runner Up – Hotel Chocolat
Food & Beverage Retailer of the Year
Winner – Festival Street Kitchen
Runner Up – Nando’s
Independent Retailer of the Year
Winner – Hair Lab
Runner Up – Festival Street Kitchen
National Retailer of the Year
Winner – Pandora
Runner Up – Build a Bear
Essential Retailer of The Year
Winner – M&S
Runner Up – Tesco
Store of the Year
Winner – Hair Lab
Runner Up – Pandora
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