By James Wells
A young WA retailer has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Young Retailer of the Year award presented by the Australian Liquor Stores Association (ALSA).
ALSA CEO Terry Mott announced yesterday that Krystal Hall from BWS Dianella Plaza north of Perth was the winner of the award, with the runner-up Ian Boyle from Kemenys in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.
“According to the judges, Krystal demonstrated strong overall retail skills and customer service amd in particular her merchandising ability. Her general warmth with customers who entered the store was complemented by an over-investment in time and energy which constantly leads to improved sales and profit,” Mott told TheShout.
“We have had a very good response this year to the inaugural Young Retailer of the Year award. We were particularly encouraged by the overall participation from the under 25 retailers which augers well for the industry in the years to come.
“The people that we met were enthusiastic and it was very encouraging to hear that they want to stay on in the industry and this is something that we would like to continue to support."
ALSA president Giuseppe Minissale added: "ALSA is proud to announce that the winner for the inaugural ALSA Young Liquor Retailer of the Year Award for 2015, is Krystal Hall from Western Australia. Krystal made an exceptional impression on the judging panel with her energetic and innovative approach to liquor retailing and demonstrated that she is a worthy winner of this first ALSA award program.”
Krystal has won a trip to Japan on the 2016 ALSA Study Tour, along with 16 other members of the industry including leading suppliers and ALSA retailers.
“Krystal will participate in the accumulation of the learnings on the Study Tour and present these at the ALSA Conference to be held in mid-2016,” Mott said.
I remember Mr. Boyle the last time I was at an ALSA store. He was extremely helpful and his knowledge allowed me to pinpoint a particular bottle wine. Best employee I’ve ever come across!!!