Telegraph Magazine and retail columnist Mary Portas have launched a nationwide search to find this year’s Best Small Shops in Britain. Following on from the success of last year, where the focus was on small, independent retailers, readers of Telegraph Magazine will be invited to vote for their favourite small shop in nine categories, for the Telegraph’s annual Shop Awards.
Now in their sixth year the Telegraph Shop Awards are a well established event, celebrating Britain’s independent retailers. The Award categories include women’s fashion, men’s fashion, interiors, health and beauty, food, wine, books and children which are all subjects that Telegraph Magazine covers each week. In addition, the ninth category will be the best corner shop or village shop.
Readers will be able to vote online, by visiting Telegraph.co.uk/shopawards or by filling in a form in the magazine. All voters will be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win one of six prizes including a three-night stay for two, with flights and transfers included, at Hacienda de San Rafael in southern Spain and a four-night stay for a family of four at Polurrian Bay Hotel in Mullion, Cornwall.
Retailers will also be invited to nominate their own shop for an award. Every retailer who self-nominates will be entered into a draw to win one of three personal consultations with a retail expert from the National Skills Academy for Retail worth £500.
The three shops in each category with the most votes will form a shortlist, from which a panel of Telegraph experts including Tamsin Blanchard, Daisy Bridgewater and Rose Prince will select a winner.
The awards will be promoted in The Daily Telegraph and Telegraph Magazine and on Telegraph.co.uk throughout October and November. Voting closes on December 5th and the final results will be announced at an awards ceremony in London and in Telegraph Magazine in early 2012.
Michele Lavery, editor of Telegraph Magazine, said:
“We were delighted last year by our readers’ responses to the Shop Awards as people voted in their thousands for their favourite independent shops. We want to continue to raise the awareness of these small retailers who make a real difference to their communities and who are persevering through these tough trading conditions. Voting opens on October 8th and we hope all our readers and the local communities get behind this.”
Mary Portas, columnist for Telegraph Magazine, said:
“Retailers who are passionate about what they do, who are well-informed about what they sell, and genuinely engage with their customers, they are the ones who are not only surviving but thriving, despite tough trading conditions. However, it’s a two-way process. As customers, we have to show that we value and appreciate the really good shops out there, or we’ll only have ourselves to blame if they disappear. When independents get it right, they deserve our support.”
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