The crowded Grand Ballroom erupted into cheers when Milestone Rathfriland was named the 2025 Retailer of the Year at this year’s NR Awards.

For a record-breaking fifth time, Tom and Ann McAvoy and the team at Milestone were awarded the most prestigious title in Northern Ireland retail – a remarkable success and one that goes down in the history books.

Almost four decades in the business, Tom and the whole team at Milestone Rathfriland do not rest on their laurels, continuing to lead the charge on innovation and setting the standards in the grocery industry in Northern Ireland.

Indeed, judges heaped praise on the store, highlighting how it had distinguished itself through its “superior and diverse range”, balancing popular essentials with specialised and bespoke goods, including many crafted on-site.

“This expansive selection is complemented by an unfailingly excellent service culture, which has fostered powerful customer loyalty and guaranteed a positive shopping journey,” said the judges.

“Furthermore, this is a business that takes its role in the community seriously, actively investing in resources that, in turn, fuels the store’s sustained success.”

Milestone Rathfriland secured two more trophies on Friday 17^th October, with a win as Fresh Food Store of the Year and Neighbourhood Store of the Year Category 3, further cementing their status as the retailer to beat. As Tom explained to NR during a visit to the store, they were delighted to win the Fresh Food Store award as this category is where they have focused over the last few years.

“We were hoping to win the fresh food award as we have worked hard on that,” said Tom.

“Fresh is a big sales driver in the store and it’s something we have focused on growing and delivering on for our customers.”

Having opened in 1988, Tom has seen many changes and developments within the industry in the last 37 years, with the growth of fresh food amongst them.

“There has definitely been a big push towards more fresh food offering. It’s a way of hunting for more business – if you do not do that you are limiting yourself in getting people in.”

Milestone Rathfriland started life as a small filling station with a kiosk, bought some 37 years ago by Tom, who was an engineer by trade. He has previously admitted to not intending to stay in the business for long, aiming to get it up and running before moving on. However, once he got immersed into the business he couldn’t leave.

“I really do enjoy it and it’s all-consuming, but it’s rewarding at the same time,” Tom previously told NR. “If I don’t keep pushing, it gets boring, so that’s why we keep trying to innovate and in turn, elevate the business.”

With a background in engineering, it has always ensured he has a great interest in machinery and production lines, experimenting with the latest machines and demonstrating those machines to other retailers.

Over the years, there has been an increasing demand from customers who want restaurant-quality food, ready-made for them to take home and Milestone Rathfriland has been ahead of the curve on this, with the business going from strength to strength with continual investment and development in these areas.

With a plan to continue developing their food to go and fresh food elements of the business, this has been a key focus for the team at Milestone and it has been reaping rewards. Over the last few years they have claimed awards wins in Food to Go, Store of the Year Cat 4 and Retailer of the Year – cementing an already well-established status as one of the top retailers in Northern Ireland.

Renowned across the region and indeed throughout Ireland and GB, Tom has put the success of the store down to their ability to provide several services under one roof, with a comfortable setting, a place to meet, greet, eat and shop all in one exceptional space.

Milestone Rathfriland proudly stands at an impressive 16,000 sq ft, a bright, modern store that works hard to serve the local community as well as enjoying custom from shoppers who travel from further afield.

Following an extensive renovation and expansion, Tom and Ann opened the larger store in 2014, however they continue to move with the times, and over the last 11 years they have continued to upgrade and modernise the store.

READ THE FULL FEATURE ON MILESTONE RATHFRILAND IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

The post Sustaining success at Milestone first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

This is the issue you’ve all been waiting for – our award winners’ special!

The 2025 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards was another fantastic event, with history made and records broken, as the best of Northern Ireland’s independent retail came together to celebrate their successes.

You can see full coverage of this gala awards night and the full list of winners in our exclusive supplement.

Following his record-breaking fifth win as Northern Ireland Retailer of the Year, NR visited Tom McAvoy’s Milestone Rathfriland store for a behind-the-scenes look at what makes this award-winning store so successful.

Meanwhile, the Windsor Framework continues to impact the day-to-day running of retail and wholesale businesses across Northern Ireland. NR spoke to Head of FSB NI, Roger Pollen to discuss the issues and see what lies ahead for businesses on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Elsewhere, we find out more about a brand-new family-run convenience store opened by the Wilson family at Carn, and we’re officially on the Christmas countdown and there is plenty of NPD to catch your eye.

ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE – READ IT HERE!

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Some Northern Ireland retailers have been left with significant pressures on their finances, as they deal with the unprecedented rise in wage bills.

Indeed, one County Down retailer said the wage increase represents an additional six-figure sum annually, while another NI retailer said their wage bill increased by almost 6%.

One month into the latest raft of tax hikes, businesses have been assessing the impact and counting the cost of these additional financial burdens.

In the May issue, NR spoke to a number of business owners across the region, as they outline what impact the rises will have on their growth plans while simultaneously attempting to reassure staff their jobs are safe.

Striking this balance has been challenging, with many business owners left scrambling for answers and ways to mitigate the impact. Robert Bell, Managing Director at SD Bell & Co described the Autumn Budget as a budget for shrinkage rather than growth, with businesses left looking internally and adapting how they do business and improve efficiency in-house where possible.

Owner of the Milestone in Rathfriland, Tom McAvoy told NR the increase in wage rates has had a substantial impact on their cost base, while also halting planned developments.

“While we fully support the principle of fair pay for employees, the scale and pace of the increase presented immediate financial and operational challenges,” said Tom.

“Our primary concern was how to absorb the additional costs without compromising service delivery, reducing staff hours, or passing on unsustainable price increases to customers.”

Meanwhile, MD of Kearney’s in Randalstown, Oonagh Heatley said that while anticipating the minimum wage increase, they were not expecting the National Insurance rises, which have subsequently put added expenses onto their business.

“We were worried about the affect this increase would have on our business from a knock-on effect from other businesses, as well as the fact that the increase does not leave people with any more disposable income due to the increase in the cost of living,” Oonagh told NR.

“Our wage bill increased by 5.9%, which was quite an increase, but we had a good few stall that were under the threshold which now met it. We are hopeful that we could increase or even maintain turnover and that we would keep our employees.

“Profit margin may take a little hit for now, but hopefully a growth in turnover would help this.”

READ THE FULL FEATURE IN THE MAY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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Retailers continue to keep their cool in providing extensive chilled food ranges for consumers.

Northern Ireland companies have played their part in the rapid growth and development of the chilled food sector, with businesses such as Mash Direct marking two decades of delivering fresh, farm-to-fork vegetable accompaniments to families nationwide.

With the increase in time pressures and more working women, as well as people living alone, there has been an increased demand for tasty foods which are quick and easy to prepare and easy to store.

Consumers in Northern Ireland are continuing to spend more on chilled foods, with the market growing by 7.6% and shoppers spending £120 million more across total fresh and chilled foods. On average, consumers bought 196 times over the year, up versus last year’s 2.6 trips.

The total take home grocery market in Northern Ireland is £4.2bn, and is seeing value growth of 9.7% or shoppers spending an additional £373m year-on-year, Kantar figures suggest.

Total dairy products grew 10.7% year-on-year with shoppers spending nearly £42 million more than last year (Kantar). Shoppers have purchased dairy more frequently, up nearly three trips compared to last year. The average shopper in Northern Ireland spent £572 in 2024, which is up £54.

A breakdown of value spend shows:

• Butter +1.5% / +578k
• Cheese +12.8% or 11.2m
• Milk +4.4% or 5.1m – bought most often on average 64.5 times a year up 1.6 trips.
• Yoghurt +24.5% or 14.9m – saw the strongest boost in frequency up 12.3% an additional 4 trips a year.

Indeed, symbol groups here are realising they too must meet the demands of the consumer and have begun introducing their own ranges of chilled products.

Musgrave NI announced a £14 million investment in local produce with the launch of a new own-label range, Good Food Locally Sourced.

Comprising a range of almost 150 products, it offers a variety of everyday tasty food including meat, poultry, dairy and meal solutions.

Many butchers and independent retailers are also keen to make their mark and increase the product availability in chilled foods. Businesses such as McKay Family Butchers from Ballycastle have significantly grown their wholesale arm, now supplying 12 retail stores, after an investment in new packing machinery and equipment allowed them to keep up with demand, along with staff investment.

Independent stores, including The Milestone in Rathfriland and Hughes Food Hall in Camlough have their own butcheries and varieties of chilled, pre-packed products, continually innovating and creating exciting foods for their customers.

Choice is key now for consumers seeking chilled foods, with convenience the driving force behind the demand and supply. The sector has been driven by significant social, economic and demographic changes, which have influenced our eating habits. As the Chilled Food Association (CFA) notes, the chilled food sector is one of the fastest growing in the food industry, with the chilled recipe dish sector growing from an estimated £173 million in 1988 to around £1,467 million in 2015.

In 1989, when CFA was formed, the market was worth £550m. By January 2017 that figure was £12.6bn (including cooked sliced meat). The total value of the UK chilled prepared food market for 2022 was £10.5 bn, excluding cooked sliced meat.

As the organisation reports, the UK chilled foods sector is unique because the foods are unpreserved, meaning hygiene and safety are critical; they are generally multicomponent (eg pizzas, sandwiches, ready meals); prepared – ready to eat, ready to reheat and ready to cook.

Additionally, they are made to order – just-in-time systems and often made on the day of delivery to retailers; they are made of seasonal raw materials and more than 95% retailer own-label foods, meaning manufacturers have exceptionally close partnerships with retailers.

TO SEE THE FULL CHILLED CABINET FEATURE IN THE MAY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

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We came out of the pandemic tired, exhausted but elated to have navigated our way successfully through covid. We were filled with great expectations for a post pandemic hype in trade.

However, our expectations were soon diluted and decimated with the onset of a cost-of-living crisis, which saw energy prices escalate out of control. Our overheads skyrocketed like never before. Raw materials began to rise steeply. We tried to absorb some of the expenses, however very soon realised that we had to follow suit and increase prices in order to survive.

The government cap on energy was a small relief and give us some degree of reassurance and stability however, it was introduced very late for retailing.

In addition, the work force after Brexit and Covid changed dramatically. We no longer had EU citizens available for work useless they had previously obtained settled status. In addition to that, working from home became the norm and a more appealing option. Retail and hospitality suffered with the shortage of workers.

The situation, however, has become more relaxed as things gradually get back closer to the old normal with people feeling the need to communicate and socialise with others. And the importance of looking after your staff and ensuring working conditions are tip top, is critical.

Pricing continues to be a high priority and it is important to negotiate with suppliers and regularly check cost prices and adjust accordingly.

It is always important to keep standards high if you wish to continue to be successful. We have throughout this period continued to use the freshest ingredients without compromising on quality. We negotiated hard with suppliers to achieve the best cost prices. This has stood by us with customers still wanting high quality albeit competitively priced items.

Winning Retailer of the Year has greatly attributed to this with related social media posts catapulting Milestone Rathfriland as the ‘go to store’. Our online facility for cakes and seasonal products has been extremely successful. Customers can now ponder and choose at their leisure.

The restaurant facility onsite has been a great addition with many customers travelling a distance to the store. They can now enjoy good food and drink in a comfortable environment. Loft 56 has in addition been a great asset to promote community involvement with several parties and events held here throughout the year. I have found this has complimented the shopping experience.

I feel that 2024 will continue to be a challenging year. I think that we will benefit with having many services and products all under one roof. The customers want convenience and quality of goods and services. Online will grow and continue to be a necessary part of the mix. Discounted pricing will be paramount to ensure sales continue to hold up and grow.

Overall, I feel that sustainability will become paramount with a greater renewed focus on green issues within retailing. We will continue to work hard at being creative and going the extra mile with presentation, quality taste and pricing. We will concentrate on innovative ways to retail and ensure our focus is on green issues and the environment in 2024.

TO READ TOM’S INDUSTRY COMMENT IN THE 2024 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE

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