Coming just weeks after being named as a finalist in The Greats Awards this marks an exciting time for the Mantons team.
After winning last year's British Independent Retailer of the Year the judges commented: “Mantons stood out as having a broad variety of achievements which impressed the judges, not just working to improve one aspect of their business but many elements at the same time. As the only Manx company to ever reach the final, Mantons has put the Isle of Man firmly on the retail map”. Commented Julie Conway head of BIRA events, "Just being selected as one of the five finalists is an amazing achievement for a retailer on a small island, considering that Mantons are up against some really prestigious businesses in some large cities."
"Winning last year felt like a fantastic achievement but I am especially excited that this year the awards specifically recognizes the whole Mantons team, who contribute so much to making Mantons so popular with so many people on the Island", owner Chris Beards commented.
“Having previously won awards for our customer service, product selection, marketing and window displays within the greetings card and gift sectors, it’s fantastic to be recognised by the UK's only awards that are open to every independent retailer in the British Isles.”
The Awards, now in their 18th year, were launched by the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) to recognise and reward the very best independent retailers in the U.K. and to celebrate inspiring businesses who are leading the way and exceeding in challenging times.
Every independent shop in the UK was eligible for the competition and the finalists are chosen on a range of qualities including the quality of products offered, customer shopping experience, and customer service. Of special interest to the judges were forward thinking, innovation and team work.
The Retas Awards concentrate on the best greeting card retailers across the UK and have been running for 12 years. Greeting cards are sold in one in six shops in the UK so reaching the finals of The Retas is a notable achievement, especially as Mantons is a previous Retas winner.
“The sending of greeting cards is an engrained part of UK culture, with the British public spending ?1.6 billion on greeting cards in the last year alone,” commented Jakki Brown, editor and co-owner of Progressive Greetings magazine, which organises The Retas Awards. “The nation leads the world in greeting card design and sends more cards per capita (30 cards per person) – and The Retas Awards celebrate the very finest greeting card retail stockists in the UK.”
The winners of this year’s prestigious Retail Award will be announced on the 11th May and The Retas winner will be revealed at an Awards lunch at The Dorchester Hotel in London on the 13th July.
Since 2010 Mantons has won fifteen national awards including the British Independent Retailers Association's 'Independent Retailer of the Year', plus being named as one of the top 100 small businesses in the UK in 2015 alone.
"The Mantons team are thrilled to be named as a finalist in two prestigious national awards on the same day" summarized Chris Beards.
"I couldn't be more proud that our small team is receiving well deserved recognition on a national stage".
Photo - Chris Beards with The Retas Trophy.
