The Victorian and Queensland state winners of the annual IGA Awards of Excellence have been announced ahead of the national awards in July.
The keenly contested IGA awards are described as representing great examples of retail excellence, demonstrating a store’s ability to grow in challenging, competition-driven environments, and a chance to formally recognise and celebrate the achievements of independent retailers.
At the Victorian awards evening on March 17, Flinders Street IGA X‐press, Ritchies IGA Mt Eliza and Ritchies SUPA IGA Mount Waverley were recognised after winning the key awards of IGA X‐press Store of the Year, IGA Store of the Year, and SUPA IGA Store of the Year, respectively.
“We’re proud to support independent supermarkets across the state that deliver a great retail experience to our local community,” Metcash Supermarkets Victorian General Manager Paul Everard said.
At the Queensland awards held on March 27, IGA Mt Cotton, SUPA IGA Atherton and IGA X‐press Bowen Hills were recognised as stores of the year in their respective categories.
Metcash Queensland General Manager Supermarkets Richard Hinson congratulated the stores for being leaders in independent retailing.
“These stores and their teams represent retail excellence for going above and beyond to demonstrate excellence in teamwork, customer service and quality in their respective store offerings,” he said.
The full list of winners for both events appears below. The state winners go on to compete against IGA stores across the country in the IGA National Awards to be announced in July 2017 in Queensland.
Victorian winners
- Ritchies IGA Mt Eliza – IGA Store of the Year, IGA Meat Department of the Year Award, IGA Bakery Department of the Year Award, IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year Award, IGA Grocery & General Merchandise Department of the Year Award and IGA Dairy/Freezer Department of the Year Award.
- Ritchies SUPA IGA Mount Waverley – SUPA IGA Store of the Year, SUPA IGA Meat Department of the Year Award, SUPA IGA Bakery Department of the Year Award, SUPA IGA Fresh Produce of the Year Award and SUPA IGA Grocery & General Merchandise Department of the Year Award.
- Boccaccio SUPA IGA Balwyn – SUPA IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year Award and IGA Retail Transformation & Innovation Award.
- Fairleys SUPA IGA Shepparton – SUPA IGA Dairy/Freezer Department of the Year Award and IGA Community Award.
- Renaissance IGA Hawthorn Glenferrie Rd – IGA Fresh Produce Department of the Year Award.
- Marks SUPA IGA Mansfield – Service Award of the Year.
- Sarah Harman Port Fairy IGA – IGA Team Member/Rising Star Award.
- Daniel Muscat, Morgans IGA Group – Vince Camera Award for Best Store Manager.
Queensland winners
- Whites SUPA IGA Bli Bli – SUPA IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year Award (second year running), SUPA IGA Dairy/Freezer Department of the Year Award (second year running) and IGA Community Award.
- IGA Mt Cotton – IGA store of the Year, IGA Dairy/Freezer Department of the Year Award and IGA Meat Department of the Year.
- IGA North Buderim – IGA Delicatessen Department of the Year Award and IGA Fresh Produce Department of the Year Award.
- SUPA IGA Atherton – SUPA IGA Store of the Year, SUPA IGA Meat Department of the Year Award and SUPA IGA Fresh Produce Department of the Year Award.
- IGA Marketplace Wises Road – IGA Bakery Department of the Year Award and IGA Service Award of the Year.
- IGA X‐press Bowen Hills – Store of the Year.
- IGA Beewah – IGA Grocery and General Merchandise Department of the Year Award.
- SUPA IGA Tully – SUPA IGA Grocery and General Merchandise Department of the Year Award.
- Ritchies SUPA IGA Boonah – IGA Retail Transformation and Innovation Award.
- Drakes SUPA IGA Glenmore – SUPA IGA Bakery Department of the Year Award.
- Simon Tanti, Drakes SUPA IGA Rochdale – Team Member/ Rising Star.