Julie wins first ever Raj Aggarwal Award

COVER STORY

Julie wins first ever Raj Aggarwal Award

Shropshire-based retailer was announced as the winner at a London event.

Retailer 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 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.”

Already this year Julie and her team have taken part in Tough Mudder for Magic Breakfast, held a coffee and cake event for Macmillan Cancer Support, taken part in two 10K runs in support of Severn Hospice, climbed Snowdon for Zero Hunger with Langar, and held numerous in-store raffles.

ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman, said: “Throughout the pandemic, Julie has gone above and beyond to support her customers and fellow retailers; she has made the local community feel like her family and friends. This is a well-deserved award and we would like to congratulate Julie for the outstanding contribution that her store has made to the local community.”

This year’s other finalists were Nico Ali from Tasa Shops in Jarrow and Sophie Williams from Broadway Convenience Store in Edinburgh.

Retail Minister Paul Scully, who presented the trophy, said: “These awards are a great opportunity to highlight how local retailers have been working tirelessly to support their communities, especially during the pandemic. Julie has been lighting up Hadley and beyond with her charity work, home deliveries and more.

“I’d like to congratulate her on such a well-deserved win of the first-ever Raj Aggarwal Award, and I thank all this year’s finalists, and retailers across the country, for their vitally important work.”

THE PROCESS

Applications were welcomed from any convenience store operator, independent retailers and managers of multiple-owned outlets. They were judged on engagement of colleagues in conceiving and delivering activity, impact on local community, sustainability of activity, and overall work to support other retailers.

ENTRIES WERE JUDGED BY

Sunita Aggarwal – Raj’s wife and Owner of Spar Wigston; Jonathan James – Managing Director of James Convenience Retail; Avtar Sidhu – Owner of Budgens Kenilworth; and James Lowman – Chief Executive of ACS.