The Retail Drinks Industry Awards were held last night at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney, applauding the year-round efforts made by the people and companies in Australia’s retail liquor industry.
Retail winners were independently judged through a combination of an expert judging panel and an independent third-party audit, and supplier winners were voted by Retail Drinks’ members.
Independent outlets and owners were strong performers with both the Liquor Store of the Year and the Liquor Store Owner of the Year being won by independents.
Vine, Providore of Fine Wines in Redfern, NSW, was named the Liquor Store of the Year, and Manager Andrew Stubbs was there to collect the award. He told National Liquor News that the team is delighted by the recognition.
“We at Vine were thrilled to be named Liquor Store of the Year last night. Vine is a group of liquor industry professionals focusing on giving every customer the best experience by way of knowledge and authenticity, and to be recognised for our passion and all of the hard work we put in is an honour,” he said.
Steven Dinnell, Owner of Porter’s Liquor St Ives Village in NSW, was named Liquor Store Owner of the Year. Dinnell, who invested in his own liquor store just over a year ago, told National Liquor News that he was shocked when he heard his name called out.
“Winning this award has provided me the recognition that I am on the right track to successfully share my passion,” he said.
Large Format Liquor Store of the Year (>400sqm) went to Dan Murphy’s in Secret Harbour, WA, and Liquor Store Manager of the Year went to Narelle Glenister from Liquorland Kangaroo Flat, Victoria.
With excellence in digital retailing and innovation being a key theme to the work of Retail Drinks, the Online Liquor Retailer of the Year award was hotly contested and ultimately won by Good Pair Days.
Tom Walenkamp, Co-founder and CEO of Good Pair Days, says that their personalised wine delivery platform is “shaking up the accessibility of a good drop” and that being recognised as the best online liquor retailer for 2019 tells them that as a business they are doing something right.
“Our team has spent the last year working incredibly hard to bring our vision for the next generation of wine retail to life, and to have the liquor industry recognise and appreciate what we’ve built through this award means the world to us,” he said.
“It really gives us confidence that we’re on the right track and we can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve got planned for the next 12 months.”
Monique Strand from Dan Murphy’s in Campbelltown, NSW, was named the Young Liquor Retailer of the Year. As winner of the award, Strand will be invited to sit as an ‘Observer’ on the Retail Drinks board for the next 12 months.
Strand follows in the footsteps of Sharni Wise who was the 2017 Young Liquor Retailer of the Year winner. Wise has spent the last 12 months as an ‘Observer’ on the Retail Drinks board and was yesterday named as an official Director of the Board at the Retail Drinks AGM.
Finally, Lion Beer Australia was the Supplier of the Year in more ways than one, winning the award for Beer Supplier of the Year, as well as the national Supplier of the Year and also Best Retail Activation Campaign for the Hahn Ultra Crisp promotion. Similarly, Phil Mack of Spirits Platform was a multi-award winner on the night, winning the award for Spirit Sales Representative of the Year before taking out the prize for national Sales Representative of the Year.
CEO Julie Ryan congratulated each of the award winners and runners up, thanking them for their participation in the inaugural Retail Drinks Industry Awards program.
“I’d like to personally thank and congratulate each of the liquor retailers, suppliers and other industry participants who took the time to enter in this year’s Awards and who have made this event a stand-out success.”
2019 WINNERS AND RUNNERS UP:
RETAILER AWARDS:
Liquor Store of the Year (<400SQM):
Winner: Vine, Providore of Fine Wines, NSW
Runner Up: Porter’s Liquor Lansvale, NSW
Large Format Liquor Store of the Year (>400sqm):
Winner: Dan Murphy’s Secret Harbour, WA
Runner Up: Coonamble Cellars, NSW
ONLINE LIQUOR RETAILER OF THE YEAR:
Winner: Good Pair Days
Runner Up: Vinomofo, Shorty’s Liquor (JOINT RUNNERS UP)
LIQUOR STORE OWNER OF THE YEAR:
Winner: Steven Dinnell (Porter’s Liquor St Ives Village, NSW)
Runner Up: Scott Towers (Red Bottle Group, NSW)
LIQUOR STORE MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
Winner: Narelle Glenister (Liquorland Kangaroo Flat, VIC)
Runner Up: James Brabender (Dan Murphy’s Collingwood, VIC)
YOUNG LIQUOR RETAILER OF THE YEAR:
Winner: Monique Strand (Dan Murphy’s Campbelltown, NSW)
Runner Up: Hayden Lee (www.wine.com.au)
SUPPLIER AWARDS:
SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR:
Winner, National Supplier of the Year: Lion Beer Australia
Winner, Beer Supplier of the Year:Lion Beer Australia
Winner, Wine Supplier of the Year:Treasury Wine Estates
Winner, Spirits Supplier of the Year:Diageo Australia
SALES REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR:
Winner, National Sales Representative of the Year: Phil Mack (Spirits Platform)
Winner, Beer Sales Representative of the Year: Alex Croke (Carlton & United Breweries)
Winner, Wine Sales Representative of the Year: Rebecca Larfield (Treasury Wine Estates)
Winner, Spirits Sales Representative of the Year: Phil Mack (Spirits Platform)
BEST RETAIL ACTIVATION CAMPAIGN:
Winner: Hahn Ultra Crisp Promotion (Lion Beer Australia)