The Retas Awards 2017 - Event Brochure by Max Publishing: Print, Digital Media + Events (London)

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The Retas 2017

The Finalists WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 THE DORCHESTER, PARK LANE MAYFAIR, LONDON W1K 1QA

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tails to tell Welcome to a celebration of the pinnacle of greeting card retailing in the UK. nchanted Tails of woodland animal and beasts is the theme for this year’s Retas awards. Let’s just ‘paws’ for thought… ‘clawing’ your way through the deep, dark retailing forest is not easy, especially in this day and age, when it seems there is more shade than light. Every single one of The Retas 2017 finalists, celebrated in this keepsake brochure, really do have a ‘tail’ to tell, being part of a special breed of retailing ‘animal’ who have used their talents and instincts to rise up from Above: Last year’s Retas Awards was on a Moon & the Stars theme. the undergrowth to establish themselves at the top of the tallest Left to right: Gale Astley, Jakki trees in the forest. Brown and Warren Lomax. They deserve to glory in The Retas’ sunshine, proudly celebrating their service, their product selection and their customer initiatives. These Retas finalists are heads, and added enchantment particularly ‘tails’, above the retail greeting card There are so many people and companies that have competition. You could say it is all down to added extra ‘enchantment’ to this year’s Retas their ‘animal magnetism’, but there has been a Awards, not least of which are the event’s lot of hard work to get there too. wonderful sponsors.

We hope you all have an enchanting afternoon.

The Retas team

We also thank Paper Rose/The Art Group for creating the stunning Retas invitations, GF Smith for the board and Loxleys for producing them - as well as all the donated raffle prizes, which are going to raise money for The Light Fund charity.

Jakki Brown, Warren Lomax, Gale Astley and Clare Davies

The Retas are annual awards for UK greeting card retailers. They were introduced and are wholly owned by Max Publishing, publisher of Progressive Greetings Worldwide, Progressive Gifts & Home, Progressive Housewares, Progressive Party, Progressive Preschool and The Licensing Source Book. T: 0207 700 6740 W: www.theretasawards.co.uk

Photos of The Retas Awards will be available to

view shortly after the event on The Retas website.

www.theretaswawards.co.uk

The Retas Awards ﬁnalists 2017

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greeting card retail

employee of the year Criteria: Awarded to a special employee who has ‘gone the extra mile’ and made an outstanding contribution to the running or growth of a greeting card shop or department. Retailers were invited to nominate employees who have made a real difference with their enthusiastic, attentive and knowledgable service.

Carol Budd, manager of The Card Hall, Maidstone, Kent “Carol has worked for us since we took over the shop 10 years ago. She is a very conscientious, hard-working member of our team. Carol was working at the shop before we took over, but as soon as we saw the way she worked with all of the other members of staff we made the decision to offer her the position of manager. Over the years when we have had snow, Carol has always walked the three miles to work, leaving home early to open the shop on time. And she always arrives early for work and always works late. Additionally, she has had to rise to a very challenging year with all of the alterations we have made to the shop. She has had to learn to write on Thorntons chocolate and make balloon displays and then train all of the staff to do this. She is prepared to come to work if required on her days off with little notice. She never lets us down.”

Martin Fitch, owner of The Card Hall, Maidstone, Kent

Lisa Dean, manager of Feathering Your Nest, Rayleigh, Essex “I nominate Lisa with great pride. Lisa worked as a legal secretary in London prior to being a fulltime mum to her three beautiful daughters, so being super organised is second nature for her, and, as the business has grown, I've needed to delegate much more work to her. I do this with utter conﬁdence that tasks will be meticulously completed. Lisa looks after the staff and their welfare like a mother hen, she tucks them safely under her wing. She creates the staff rotas, she’s the stock room controller and is our creative internal display person. She is methodical and thorough, organised and, as I always joke, just a tad OCD... but that's a great thing in retail! And she has a natural and comfortable approach to selling and all our customers love her. The agents adore Lisa and her tea too. We place many orders together, thankfully we have very similar taste. Lisa’s a bit like Mary Poppins, perfect in every way. I couldn't ask for more in a manager.”

Lesley and Chris Dunne, owners of Feathering Your Nest, Rayleigh, Essex

The Retas Awards ﬁnalists 2017

Heather Clarke, senior merchandiser/sales of Ivad Gifts, Paisley, Renfrewshire “Heather is amazing! She’s worked for me for 10 years and she’s great with customers (they love her) and she has a passion for the store’s product, and her knowledge of it is fabulous. She is great at shop displays, keeping the card section looking fabulous, requesting more stock when required, and generally helping increase sales through her passion for customer service and her bubbly personality. We don't know what we’d do without her, and her personal support since I’ve had kids has been invaluable. She’s a star!.”

Laura Bell, owner of Ivad Gifts, Paisley, Renfrewshire

Hilary Hayes, senior sales assistant of Coles of Sidmouth, Sidmouth, Devon “Hilary is an employee who goes that extra mile. Her shop displays and shop window displays have exceptional impact and are praised daily by our customers, and produced a measurable increase in sales of items on display. Hilary often works and plans the window displays at home in her own time, and she has enabled our business to receive second prize in the Tour of Britain window competition and ﬁrst prize for our Christmas window displays, both awards were from the Chamber of Commerce. She demonstrates exceptional product knowledge and always has excellent rapport with customers, providing help and ensuring that the shopping experience for our customers is pleasant, comfortable and reassuring. Hilary usually arrives early to work and at times has to be gently nudged out of the door to go home as she is keen to stay and help. She is also trustworthy, honest, willing and very able to manage the shop so we can have days off.”

Colin and Kylie Cramb, co-owners of Coles of Sidmouth, Sidmouth, Devon

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Denise Keers, sales person of Cards 2 Confetti, Brixham, Devon “Denise has worked for us for 18 years, and over the years she has ensured that we continue to keep the product fresh and current. Denise is able to get on with anybody and always has a friendly approachable attitude to help both regular customers and visitors so that they always leave with the right card for the right occasion. In recognising Denise we recognise the shop, she really is pivotal to its continued success and growth in these challenging times.”

Nick O’Brien, owner of Cards 2 Confetti, Brixham, Devon

Tim Reynolds, shop manager of Medici Gallery, Kensington, London “Tim has worked at the Medici Gallery for 16 years. He practically lives there and he’s such a great character. He really is an asset to the industry! In his own words: “It’s not so much of a job, it’s more like a calling.” Tim is always very kind and supportive to his team and we feel we can approach him with any difficulties we have at work or at home. Whenever there is a negative atmosphere he will make people laugh and everyone feels better. He is strict though, and has high standards, so everyone knows what is expected of them. Above all, he is a nice man and makes working life enjoyable.”

Charlie Wheatley, assistant manager of Medici Gallery, Kensington, London

Susan Robertson, greeting cards and wrap supervisor of The Mains of Drum, Banchory, Aberdeenshire “Susan started at the Mains of Drum in 2010, and now with 25 years of retail experience her expertise and knowledge shines through in her attention to detail, both in terms of merchandising and her exemplary customer service. By her own admission, greeting cards are her passion, and to say she is dedicated to her role in the card department would be an understatement. Her hard work, dedication and customer service has resulted in an increase in sales of 8% over the last year for everyday cards, while we saw an outstanding increase of 18% for Christmas cards. Winning this award would mean the world to Susan. She is a valued and much thought of member of The Mains of Drum team, its customers, her colleagues and our greeting card suppliers. We believe that this award would give her the recognition within the greeting card industry that she very much deserves.”

Craig Forbes, director of The Mains of Drum, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Sue Williams, retail assistant/buyer of The Hollies Farm Shop, Lower Stretton, Cheshire “Sue Williams started work at The Hollies at Lower Stretton soon after it opened in May 2007 as a farm shop assistant. Sue has always been a hard working and dedicated member of the team whose attention to detail and customer service stood out from day one. The shop ﬁrst opened with just one spinner of cards. Within a year we had expanded to a whole wall 20' long, of which Sue soon became a key organiser. By 2010 we had our own dedicated card and gift area, and Sue was the natural person to ask to take over the ordering of cards. The area has gone from strength to strength under Sue’s management, with increases in sales year on year. Sue is always on hand to give advice and help customers so they leave the area happy in the knowledge they have chosen the right card or gift or usually both! Sue is so proud of the department and rightly so, it is a credit to her; we are very lucky to have Sue!”

Ed Cowap, director and co-owner of The Hollies Farm Shop, Lower Stretton, Cheshire