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FINALISTS
This award recognises outstanding hardware retail stores and home décor retailers.
Mitre 10 MEGA
ALBANY
“We are proud to be recognised for the hard work, commitment and resilience that every one of us brings to work every day to serve our customers,” says Store Manager Kevin Balding. Faced with lockdowns, three major store floods, a restructure and refitting almost a third of the store, the Albany team rose to these challenges and emerged “stronger, better trained and engaged” having also smashed the previous year’s sales, customer satisfaction scores and set new display standards! All this hard work has not gone unnoticed by customers: “Every staff member has been exceptional to deal with and has always gone over and above to help me with my DIY needs. Can’t recommend enough!”
HASTINGS
Being named a Finalist, says Director Stephen Ricketts, is “Amazing recognition for what we’ve achieved during an incredibly difficult and challenging year. Like a lot of businesses, we’ve enjoyed growth during this time and the team has banded together to make this growth sustainable. We’ve all learned new skills and more efficient ways of doing things, which has been an incredibly rewarding journey. Being a Finalist tells us that the blood, sweat and tears has all been worth it, and that amongst our peers we’ve been successful. We know we’ve achieved something special over the past year and seeing the personal growth and collaboration among the team has been a highlight.”
PAPANUI
On behalf of last year’s winner, Director Murray Smith says reaching the Finalist stage yet again is “a real thrill for the whole team. We see it as wonderful recognition for doing a good job and doing all those small things just a little bit better than we did the day before.” What does Murray feel makes this winning store special? “Our people make the difference. That’s what makes us special. It all starts with us spending extra time to hire good people [and] this great team culture leads to a great customer experience in-store. I know everyone talks about their great culture, but we truly try and live it. Plus, we can measure it!”
RETAIL STORE OF THE YEAR
Mitre 10 MEGA
Mitre 10 MEGA
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