Recognised for his drive and determination by judges, John Fox was praised for working tirelessly to achieve concrete goals, partnering closely with his team to deliver exceptional results.

Evidence of this can be seen throughout the County Down store, which is completing an extensive expansion and redevelopment, with John’s commitment to improving the offering the store provides to its customers and consideration for consumer demands all having been taken into account in the process.

Judges said resting on his laurels was not in John’s vocabulary, with his sights set on ambitious targets to take the store to new heights. Overseeing the redevelopment at the store, John has been central to ensuring that feedback from customers helps form the basis of improvements.

Ahead of the works beginning last September, John and the team asked customers for their input and feedback on what they wanted in the store, what could be done better and what was being pushed too much.

“Customers were asking for our own meals, more parking, more offering of fresh foods and an in-store bakery,” said John.

“We have launched our own in-store production kitchen, the eighth in-store one for Henderson’s.

“We have put so much into it and seeing it being recognised now is very rewarding and a great boost to know you’re getting it right.”

Describing his award win as “fantastic”, John said it was a special night catching up with many familiar faces within the industry here.

“You cannot put into words what it’s like to win when you are there. When my name was called out in the shortlist, there were so many cheers, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“When my name was called out as the winner, I was just completely surprised, it was wonderful. The whole night was brilliant.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JOHN FOX IN THE MAY ISSUE OF NR HERE

The post Setting sights on ambitious targets first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The appetite for this year’s awards has been immense and we have received more than 500 entries to this year’s competition, which has been independently judged by industry specialists Spotcheck NI to rigorous standards.

To reach this stage of the competition is a major achievement, and we’re looking forward to meeting all the finalists at the NR Gala Awards Dinner on October 28 at the Crowne Plaza, Belfast.

The finalists for the Store Manager of the Year award are:

• Niall Kirkpatrick, Centra Portglenone
• Craig Crossey-Truesdale, SPAR Dublin Road
• Chris Lawlor, EUROSPAR Donegall Road
• Ruairi McBride, Ivan Wilson Limited Centra
• Samuel McCann, SPAR Malone Road
• Elaine Sharwin, SuperValu Downpatrick
• John Fox, EUROSPAR Kilkeel

The post Neighbourhood Retailer Awards: finalists for Store Manager of the Year award first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.