Londis Solo Convenience Store in Glasgow was crowned National Winner, alongside Coldean Convenience in Brighton, at National Lottery operator Allwyn’s Local Retail Champions awards. Both retailers were awarded £5,000 cash and a Social Value store makeover worth up to £20,000.
A further 16 Regional Winners, including Cults Stores Keystore in Aberdeen, and Stevenston Post Office in North Ayrshire, took home £5,000 cash, while 102 runners-up will receive a £100 cash prize.
The two National Winners and 16 Regional Winners picked up their Local Retail Champions awards, which were made from recycled National Lottery Scratchcards, at a special ceremony held at Hilton Wembley yesterday.
Launched in September, Allwyn’s first Local Retail Champions campaign – funded by Allwyn’s Social Value Fund – asked the UK public to nominate National Lottery retailers who go above and beyond to support their local community and received almost 1,000 store nominations.
Londis Solo Convenience Store, owned by Natalie and Martin Lightfoot, was selected as a National Winner for going that extra mile for their community, including organising charity fundraising events and local litter-picking activities, and providing a home delivery service for those who need it.
Natalie said: “I’m so proud of my shop, I joke that it’s my fourth child. It’s lovely when other people recognise something you’re so passionate about.”
Coldean Convenience, run by Raj and Manish Suchak, also took home a national prize for a variety of community-focused work, including creating a safe space for those who need it, donating generously to local food banks, and providing all the food for a local school’s breakfast club and fundraising for the local cat shelter.
Manish said: “To know that our wonderful customers voted for us gives us tremendous pleasure. It’s a very supportive community in general, so anything we’re doing is just repaying that kindness. I’m now giving some thought to how we can spend the store makeover money, it’s such a lovely thing to be able to spend £20,000 to benefit my customers.”
Allwyn’s Director of Commercial Partnerships and Retail Sales, Alison Acquaye-Acford, said: “Congratulations to all of our Local Retail Champions winners. You’re all doing such incredible work in your local communities and, as National Lottery retailers, we’re delighted to be able to recognise and reward you for this.
“National Lottery retailers already do so much for communities around the UK simply by selling lottery tickets that help fund Good Causes to the tune of around £30 million each week. So our Local Retail Champions really are doubling up on efforts to help their communities with the work they’ve been nominated and awarded for through this initiative. Thank you for all your wonderful work.”
The Local Retail Champions initiative is being paid for with money from Allwyn’s dedicated Social Value Fund, which is an annual £1 m that the company has committed to using to support operating The National Lottery in an environmentally and socially responsible way. This year, Allwyn is using a portion of the fund to reward and recognise the important role its retail partners play in every community across the UK and Isle of Man.
The Social Value store makeover, which Londis Solo Convenience and Coldean Convenience will receive, will help them do even more for their customers, community or environment. Both Natalie and Manish are now looking at social and environmental initiatives to improve their stores and how they support their local community, and some initial thoughts have included solar panels and a defibrillator and bleed control kit.
Full list of 16 Regional Winners who have each won £5,000 cash:
· Cults Stores – Keystore, Aberdeen, Louise and Christopher Cobb
· Carl’s Convenience Store, Oldbury, Kuldeep Singh
· McKees Convenience Store, Belfast, Gerard McKee
· TJ’s Late Shop, Hemel Hempstead, George Phillips
· Angel Supermarket, Ilford, Thangarajah Kuganeswaran
· Stevenston Post Office, North Ayrshire, Robin Bawa
· Llanfair Village Shop, Llanfairtalhaiarn, Deborah Gale
· OneStop – Carlton Convenience, Manchester, Priyesh Vekaria
· Westerhope Convenience Store, Newcastle, Sheraz Awan
· Tidings Newsagents, Norfolk, Gail Watling
· Tenby Stores, Tenby, Vince and Fiona Malone
· Halai General Store (Best One), London, Dhanji N Halai
· Londis Gerrards Cross, Harjit Singh
· Trinity Food and Wine, Basildon, Agnelo and Maria Desousa
· Woosnam & Davies News, Llanidloes, Trudy Davies
· Jules Convenience, Telford, Julie Kaur
