Mulkerns rack up another hat trick to bring home more industry excellence awards
Fresh off the back of winning three Convenience Awards earlier this month, the team at Mulkerns EUROSPAR have added three more prestigious industry awards to their trophy cabinet.
At the Retail Industry Awards, Mulkerns picked up Best Use of Technology, Food-to-Go Retailer of the Year and Store Team of the Year, triumphing over retailers from across the UK.
The Retail Industry Awards are earmarked as the most prestigious in the biz, and SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVOXTRA retailers across Northern Ireland racked up 10 award wins and eight highly commended nods between them.
Mulkerns have consistently shown how strong their food-to-go offering is, developing the range to adapt to trends and demands from their shoppers. Most recently afternoon tea and fish and chips has been added to the menu alongside their Eat Well, Feel Well range of lighter options. Judges said; “this was an outstanding entry”.
Picking up the Best Use of Technology Award, judges said Mulkerns were “really forward-thinking and show extraordinary knowledge of what’s needed to get the right results” and “it’s an excellent example of a retailer using tech in a number of areas to improve the business. The way they adapted during the pandemic was also very impressive.”
The store introduced electronic shelf-edge labels and made great use of social media to engage with its shoppers during lockdown. The team launched a series of apps for home delivery, click-and-collect and left-over produce, as well as creating its own e-commerce platform for wine sales. In-store, digital media screens were used to engage with shoppers and loyalty card data used to create more targeted promotions. The store is also trialling an app that allows customers to see in advance what’s in stock, scan products as they go, and pay for them without having to go to the till.
The team at Mulkerns produced outstanding customer service, particularly during lockdown, pivoting to expand their home delivery service and innovating to develop their services and products in store. Judges were particularly impressed with staff working together to
photograph the 12,000-strong product range for its online shopping app launched during the pandemic to support isolating and vulnerable shoppers.
Terry Mulkerns says its teamwork and resilience that has helped them deliver award winning service; “This year’s Retail Industry Awards recognised the resilience of the entire retail industry for the fortitude and innovation we have shown to lessen the impact of COVID and subsequent lockdowns. I am so proud of my team who not only worked tirelessly throughout lockdowns and all the challenges that brought, but also extended their hand to our local community showing their dedication to our local area.”
“These awards motivate the team even more and we’re very proud to have made such an impact on the industry across the UK.”