National Store of the Year Award Entry Steps1 Enter the Awards process today by going to

www.retailexcellence.ie

2 A team of qualified Mystery Shoppers will visit each store to audit service levels and the customer journey. All entrants will receive a completed mystery shop report to share and discuss with their team. The Top100 scoring stores will be awarded Top100 status and go forward to the next phase.

3 All Top100 stores will receive an inspirational 10 Pillars Submission Guide which has been custom designed by our partners and retail industry experts EchoChamber. This is a visual guide to best practice retailing from around the world. The guide outlines ten key pillars to retailing excellence. Each of the Top100 stores will then be invited to a briefing session with Matthew Brown, EchoChamber where Matthew will explain and discuss the process for each of the Top100 stores to complete their own 10 Pillars Submission document. This document gives each team a reason to stand back and identify the strengths and weaknesses within their business.

Once the submission has been screened by EchoChamber, a review of the stores’ performance (including areas requiring improvement) will be returned. The highest scoring (combined scores) Top30 stores will now go forward as a finalist in National Store of the Year.

4 Each Top30 Finalist Store will be visited by EchoChamber and AIBMS Retail Excellence judges. The Top30 stores will also be required to complete a financial submission which will be forwarded directly to Grant Thornton for assessment.

The Process

AIBMS RETAILEXCELLENCEAWARDS 2018Retail Excellence, backed by AIB Merchant

Services (AIBMS), invites you to enter the

2018 Awards process which will celebrate

and pay tribute to the very best in the Irish

Retail Industry – both in-store and online. The

awards bring together the top talent in Irish

retail and recognise the most innovative

retailers across a variety of categories.

Entering the AIBMS Retail Excellence

Awards is not just entering a competition –

it is a means to equip you and your team

with the tools, knowledge and confidence to

understand the fast changing evolution of

retail and ensure your business will deliver

world class experience for your customer.

Award Categories

National Store of the Year Award

Store of the Year Sectoral Awards

eCommerce Awards

People Awards

Supplier of the Year Award

Ireland’s Friendliest Place Award

1enter now!

2mystery

shopping audit

310 pillarssubmission

4financial

submission

5judging

nationalstore of the

Year

Examples of who should enter each categorySector

Specialist Food / Wine Store of the Year

Supermarket of the Year

Restaurant & Coffee House of the Year

Fashion / Footwear / Childrenswear / Accessory Store of the Year

Department / Luxury Store of the Year

Electronic & Tech Store of the Year

Forecourt / Convenience Store of the Year

Garden / DIY / Agri Store of the Year

Pharmacy / Beauty Store of the Year

Home / Interiors Store of the Year

Visitor Store of the Year

Jewellery / Gift Store of the Year

Optician Store of the Year

LifeStyle Store of the Year

Health Store of the Year

Butcher / Artisan Food / Deli / Wine / Off-Licence / Chocolate Store

Supermarket

Restaurant / Coffee House

Ladies / Mens’ Fashion / Footwear / Accessory / Childrenswear

Department / Luxury Store

Electronic / Tech Store

Forecourt / Convenience Store

Garden Centre / DIY / Agri Store

Health / Pharmacy / Beauty Store

Home / Furniture / Flooring Store

Visitor Store

Jewellery / Gift Store

Optician Store

Sport / Pet / Baby / Toy / Book / Hobby Store

Health Food Store

SectoralAwardsWhere more than tenstores from three differentcompanies enter, then thatsectoral award will bepresented. The store whichachieves the highest scorein their specific sector willbe announced as thesectoral winner.

Sectoral awards will run as follows:

People AwardsManager of the Year AwardA great manager is one of the most important assets toyour business – your manager will drive results in thestore and lead the team effectively and profitably. This isyour opportunity to recognise your store manager’sdedication and commitment by entering them in theManager of the Year Award. Once you have entered yourManager, he/she will then be requested to complete asubmission document which will be reviewed by ourjudging panel.

The Top5 Managers will then be invited to meet thepanel in person. The recipient of this prestigious title willthen be announced at the AIBMS Retail ExcellenceAwards Ceremony.

Rising Star of the Year AwardThe Rising Star Award recognises team members whoexcel in their role in the business. Once you have enteredyour Rising Star, he/she will be requested to complete asubmission document which will be reviewed by thejudging panel. The Top5 Rising Stars will then be invitedto meet the panel in person. The winner of this Awardwill be announced at the AIBMS Retail Excellence AwardsCeremony. Entrants must hold non-management / non-supervisory roles to be eligible to enter.

ecommerce awardsThe world of online provides a fantastic opportunity forretailers to capitalise on a significant prize across theglobe. We have added an extra category this year tocelebrate those who excel in exporting. The eCommerceAwards category recognises retailers who are best inclass at online operations.

Website of the Year Award The Website of the Year Award is for websites whichhave been established for two years or more. Everywebsite entered will undergo a comprehensive auditconducted by our expert eCommerce judging panel. Allentrants will be subject to a mystery shopping processto test their delivery services. Each entrant will receive avaluable report outlining where improvements can bemade. The Top3 finalists will be invited to present to ourjudging panel with the winner being announced at theAIBMS Retail Excellence Awards Ceremony.

New Website of the Year Award The New Website of the Year Award is for websites whichhave been established within the last two years. As withthe Website of the Year Award, each entrant will undergoa comprehensive audit conducted by our expert judgingpanel, mystery shopped to test the delivery services andentrants will also receive a valuable feedback report. TheTop3 finalists will be invited to present to our judgingpanel with the winner being announced at the AIBMSRetail Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Digital Campaign of the Year Award The Digital Campaign of the Year Award celebrates the mostinnovative and creative Digital Campaigns in retail. Entrants willbe required to complete a submission which will be assessedby our expert judging panel. The Top3 campaigns will beselected as finalists with the overall winner announced at theAIBMS Retail Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Exporter of the Year Award The eCommerce Exporter of the Year Award exemplifies acompany who has successfully expanded their businessthrough international online sales. The entrants will undergo athorough submission and mystery shopping process which willbe assessed by our expert judging panel. The Top3 will beshortlisted as finalists with the overall winner announced at theAIBMS Retail Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Ireland’s friendliest place awardNow in its third year, this Award has become a highly competitivecategory with more and more County & City Council’s enteringtheir city, town or village every year. Up to a maximum of tenstores in each place will be mystery shopped using the samecriteria as the National Store of the Year Award. The three placeswith the highest average score will be deemed finalists. The Top3finalist places will be invited to attend the AIBMS Retail ExcellenceAwards Ceremony where Ireland’s Friendliest Place will beannounced. Stores nominated to represent a place are alsoautomatically entered into the National Store of the Year Award.

Supplier of the year awardThe Supplier of the Year Award allows us to celebrate the verybest suppliers to the Irish Retail Industry. Only partners to RetailExcellence can enter. Entry involves completion of a submissionwhich is assessed by an expert judging panel. The Top3suppliers will be announced as finalists and the overall Supplierof the Year will be announced at the AIBMS Retail ExcellenceAwards Ceremony.

Closing date for entry to the aibms retail excellence awards is 31st may 2018

How to enter the AwardsTO ENTER, LOG ON TO

WWW.RETAILEXCELLENCE.IEand complete your entry. All entries must

be completed online and cannot beaccepted by phone/email unless

accompanied by credit card details.

investmentNational Store of the Year Award Phase 1: All entries – Mystery Shop Audit (€95) (Ex VAT @23%)Phase 2: Top 100 Stores – Retail Innovation & Excellence Audit €265 (Ex VAT @23%) (Includes attendance at the EchoChamber Briefing)

People AwardsManager of the Year (€95) (Ex VAT @23%)Rising Star of the Year (€95) (Ex VAT @23%)

eCommerce AwardsWebsite of the Year (€195) Ex VAT @23%)New WebsiteDigital Campaign Exporter of the Year

Ireland’s Friendliest Place Award (€95) (Ex VAT @23%) (per store)

With thanks to our Corporate and Gold Partners for their support of Retail Excellenceand the Irish Retail Industry 2018 - 2019