The winners of the 2023 SPAR Awards were announced at the annual Gala Awards Dinner following the 2023 SPAR Australia Trade Show.
The trade show was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 10-12 August, with winners of the awards announced on the final night at the Gala Awards Dinner, which was hosted by Ali Plath, breakfast radio announcer for Triple M Gold Coast.
The entire event continued to build on the ‘Better Together’ strategy that has cemented SPAR’s Community Partnership Foundation program throughout the network. The spirit of partnership is the founding ethos between SPAR Australia, its retailers, and its suppliers.
Kicking off the event, Lou Jardin, Managing Director of SPAR, spoke about the past 13 years and the progress of SPAR Australia before presenting the loyalty bonus, which has been running for the past 11 years, rewarding branded stores for their continued loyalty to both the SPAR Warehouse and to the SPAR Brand.
This year, another $558,869 was presented to retailers, bringing the total to $3,884,913 since the program was launched.
The Gala Dinner commenced with the presentation of the ‘Little SPAR Award’. SPAR Australia was able to recognise the English family from SPAR Malanda, another true hero of the SPAR family and the independent industry.
Jardin said that the English family are worthy recipients of the ‘Little SPAR Award’.
“The family store, founded by Tom English, has been a vital part of the Malanda community for many years. Michael English was a founding member of the warehouse that now is SPAR. His loyalty to the warehouse throughout its history has been instrumental and a key reason why SPAR exists today.”
Throughout the night, Store of the Year Awards, the Retail Awards Program, Store Manager of the Year, Community/Partnership/Foundation, and Supplier Awards in recognition of their stands at the trade show were also announced.
Here is the full list of winners:
Store of the Year
- SPAR Store of the Year 2023 – SPAR Lismore
- SPAR Express Store of the Year 2023 – SPAR Express Oxenford
Retailer Awards Program
- SPAR Grocery Award – SPAR Ballina
- SPAR Express Grocery Award – SPAR Express Terrigal
- Dairy / Freezer Award – SPAR Urunga
- Fresh Food Award – SPAR Carina
- Food To Go Award – SPAR Express Oxenford
Store Manager of the Year
- SPAR Store Manager Award – Luke Hanlon, SPAR Maclean
Community/Partnership/Foundation Award
- SPAR Community/Partnership/Foundation Award – SPAR Winton
Supplier Trade Show Awards
- Small Supplier Stand 2023 – Warwick Meats
- Medium Supplier Stand 2023 – So Soda
- Large Supplier Stand 2023 – Tip Top Bakeries
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