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International Spirits Retailer of the Year |
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| | | | On Wednesday 7th October, World Duty Free was recognised as ‘International Spirits Retailer of the Year’ in a landmark win at the International Spirits Challenge Award ceremony, held this year at London's luxurious Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel.
Put forward in the most highly competitive Retailer Award category, World Duty Free were nominated alongside Tesco (UK); Ahold (Netherlands); Sherry-Lehmann (New York, USA) and El Corte Ingles (Spain) and won the highly acclaimed prize.
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The Retailer Awards category was introduced to International Spirits
Challenge for the first time this year, as a way of recognising
excellence in spirits retailing. Nominations in three categories;
International Spirits Retailer of the Year, UK Multiple Spirits
Retailer of the Year and UK Independent Spirits Retailer of the Year,
were put forward by producers entering the competition. The ISC panel
of judges were then asked their opinion and nominations before the
final winners were elected.
Commenting on why he felt World Duty Free was awarded the title, John
Ramsay, Whiskies Chairman on the ISC panel of judges said; “I have always found World Duty Free stores offer a superb range of spirits and
a staff with considerable expertise in all of the products available.
Ian Wisniewski, chairman of the white spirit judges continued; “Travel
retail is a vital sector of the market, giving brands amazing access to
an international audience. Winning ‘International Spirits Retailer of
the Year’ is a significant accolade.”
CEO of World Duty Free Mark Riches comments; “Six years ago the liquor
category in the travel retail business was lagging. Thanks to the
fantastic relationships we have built up over the years with our liquor
brand partners, we have been able to work together to rejuvenate the
category in the travel retail sector by providing our customers with
what they want; a diverse
portfolio of spirits and wines, a constant stream of new and exclusive
products all at consistently great value. Heathrow Terminal 5 in
particular has enabled us to showcase what can be achieved when we work
in close affiliation with our brand partners.
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| Being awarded the title
of ‘International Spirits Retailer of the Year’ is the culmination of
many years of collaborative investment in the category and hopefully
marks the beginning of a new era of excellence in duty free retailing
across our group.”
| | Fraser Dunlop, WDF Head of Category - Liquor, Tobacco,
Confectionery and Fine Foods collects the award from host of the
evening, Lucy Britner, News and Website Editor for
Drinks International.
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