C OV E R
RAJ AGGARW
Julie wins first ever Raj Agg
A Shropshire-based retailer was announced as the winner at a London
R
THE FINALISTS WITH SUNITA AGGARWAL
etailer Julie Kaur Duhra has been unveiled as the first winner of the Raj Aggarwal Award – a new trophy marking the legacy of independent retailer Raj Aggarwal and celebrating exceptional community retailing. She was announced as the winner at the ACS Heart of the Community conference in London, following a panel discussion on exceptional community retailing. Julie runs a convenience store just north of Telford, in Shropshire, with her husband Joey. She has played a vital role in her local area, providing home deliveries to customers, leading local fundraising efforts and supporting other retailers. Julie, who’s been in retail for more than 30 years, told the ACS conference: “The pandemic was sink or swim. You just had to keep swimming – it was very tough.” With her wholesaler running low on products, Julie had to think outside of the box to deliver essentials to vulnerable
10 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 78 WEDNESDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2021
customers, buying large packs of pasta and breaking them down into smaller bags. When bread ran out, she tracked down other retailers that were still getting deliveries and swapped eggs for their bread. Elderly customers “rely on us a lot,” said Julie, who kept delivering morale-boosting treats as the pandemic played out: “At Easter we took them hot cross buns from Marks & Spencer. They were over the moon – you couldn’t buy that smile – and in May we took them ice-creams for VE Day. In June it was my birthday, so I took them all an individual slice of cake.” She started fundraising in the summer, raising £5,000 by Christmas: “We went round the elderly with Santa and took them hampers because they were on lockdown.” She added: “I feel like I’ve got everything I need in life so I think if I can make a difference by giving something to somebody it makes me happy as a person.”
