A Milestone year for Rathfriland retailer Tom McAvoy at NR Awards!
It was a night of glitz, glamour and celebration at the 2023 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, with the great and good of the retail industry coming together at the Crowne Plaza Belfast.
The night was a rousing success for County Down store, Milestone Rathfriland who scooped a total of four awards including the coveted Northern Ireland Retailer of the Year 2023 title.
One of Neighbourhood Retailer’s most successful winners, this is the fourth time they have taken the prestigious award home.
Owner and director of the Milestone, Tom McAvoy is a well-known and highly respected name right across Northern Ireland and this year was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
A deserving winner, the 550-strong audience took to their feet, giving Tom a standing ovation as he received his award on stage.
Indeed, the Milestone team snapped up other awards on the night, namely Neighbourhood Store of the Year Category 4 and Food to Go Store of the Year, marking a hugely successful year for the County Down store.
Now in their 26th year, the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards are the annual showcase of industry excellence and hundreds of the country’s leading retailers gathered in the ballroom, waiting with anticipation to find out this year’s winners.
Hosted by Donna Traynor, the winning stores in 19 categories were announced over the course of the gala awards evening, appearing on stage to collect their awards.
With another record year for entries, this was a fantastic awards evening for winners and finalists on the night – with two stores also Highly Commended in their respective categories – Daly’s Service Station Dungannon in Outstanding Customer Service and McDade’s Centra Clogher in Forecourt of the Year Category 2.
Huge congratulations to all of our winners and finalists on the night – find out the full list of winners below.
Retailer of the Year 2023:
Winner: Milestone Rathfriland
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Tom McAvoy
Store Manager of the Year:
Winner: Wendy Camley of McDade’s Centra in Clogher
Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 1:
Winner: ViVO Essentials Ballygowan
Outstanding Customer Service:
Winner: McAtamney’s Traditional Butchers
CTN of the Year:
Winner: McCullagh’s Centra Campsie Road, Omagh
Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 2:
Winner: ViVO Dromore
Bakery of the Year:
Winner: The Heatherlea
Off Licence of the Year:
Winner: Hughes Foodhall Camlough
Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 3:
Winner: Eurospar Cullybackey
New Product Launch of the Year:
Winner: Carnbrooke Lisburn
Community Store of the Year:
Winner: Creighton’s Finaghy
Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 4:
Winner: Milestone Rathfriland
Butcher of the Year:
Winner: Cunningham’s Butchers
Forecourt of the Year Cat 1:
Winner: Eurospar Ladas Drive
Food to Go Store of the Year:
Winner: Milestone Rathfriland
Fresh Food Store of the Year:
Winner: Spar Castlederg
Forecourt of the Year Cat 2:
Winner: McCullagh’s Classic
Newcomer of the Year:
Winner: Lynch’s Eurospar Greysteel
Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year:
Winner: Musgrave NI
We will have a special awards supplement in the next issue of Neighbourhood Retailer, coming soon!
