Top shop named | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

The Prenzel Shop Botany was last night announced as Auckland's Top Shop.

The store beat 121 other finalists who made it through to the final stage of the Auckland region 2010 Top Shop Retail Excellence Awards.

The awards were presented last night in the SkyCity Convention Centre attended by approximately 570 Auckland retailers and their guests.

The awards are all the more special as the organisers have opted to hand out the honours only every second year.

New Zealand Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson says the decision was made to run this event every second year to enable winners and finalists more time to take advantage of their success.

"This wasn't without its risks and we were a little apprehensive as to the numbers that the event would attract this year. I am absolutely delighted to advise that this year we had a record number of entries."

The Prenzel Shop, which retails New Zealand made foods & liqueurs was described by the judges as "a store that compels you to buy things you never dreamed you needed".

Category award winners are:

Large Format - Smith & Caughey's Newmarket
Fashion, Footwear & Accessories - John Franich Jewellers, Henderson, Waitakere
Lifestyle and Wellbeing - 2XU Newmarket Performance Centre
Giftware & Homeware - T2, Botany
Specialty - Telecom Retail Store Westgate
Food and Beverage - The Prenzel Shop, Botany
Start-Up - Printinc Manukau
Online Retailing Award - The Sleep Store www.thesleepstore.co.nz
Sustainable Retailing - ecostore

The new category of Sustainable Retailing, sponsored by Meridian, was a very popular category for over 30 Auckland businesses. Retailers are evaluated based on their understanding of the environmental issues, the actions to address them, management systems (policies, meetings, etc), staff involvement and awareness, and influencing the supply chain.

Ecostore is described as a clear winner in this category. The business is founded on finding better solutions for common household products, and leading the way in product design and lowering the operational footprint.

The Retail Modern Apprentice award went to Katie Coxon of John Franich Jewellers.

The 2010 Auckland Overall Top Shop Winner receives a $15,000 joint advertising package from the principal sponsors, The New Zealand Herald and EasyMix 98.2 FM.

Due to the large number of top-quality finalists involved in the awards, the New Zealand Retailers Association decided to acknowledge the close run competition with two runner-up awards for each category.

Top Shop has been around 22 years and has a well established track record of improving customer service.

The awards are open to all retailers and also run in the Wellington, Waikato and Christchurch regions.

The Auckland region is Pukekohe to Orewa. The northern boundary is Orewa on the east coast and Kumeu in the west. In the south the eastern boundary is Waiheke Island through to Clevedon and heading west takes in Papakura and Pukekohe with the western most town being Waiuku.

2010 Auckland Overall Top Shop (sponsored by The New Zealand Herald and EasyMix 98.2 FM)

The Prenzel Shop, Botany.

Large Format Category (sponsored by Visa)

Winner: Smith & Caughey's Newmarket. 1st Runner Up: New World Albany. 2nd Runner Up: Westgate Mitre 10 Home and Trade.

Fashion, Footwear and Accessories Category (sponsored by Student Job Search)

Winner: John Franich Jewellers, Waitakere. 1st Runner Up: AGATHA Paris, Auckland. 2nd Runner Up: Kid Republic, Newmarket.

Lifestyle & Wellbeing Category (sponsored by Westpac)

Winner: 2XU Newmarket Performance Centre. 1st Runner Up: L'Occitane En Provence, Sylvia Park. 2nd Runner Up: L'Occitane En Provence, St Lukes.

Giftware & Homeware Category (sponsored by Viaduct)

Winner: T2, Botany. 1st Runner Up: Chambers Home and Living, Ponsonby. 2nd Runner Up: WildZone Gift Shop at Auckland Zoo.

Specialty Category (sponsored by Advantage Business)

Winner: Telecom Retail Store, Westgate. 1st Runner Up: The Hemp Store Aotearoa. 2nd Runner Up: The Bead Hold, Pt Chevalier.

Food & Beverage (sponsored by Dish and NZRetail magazines)

Winner: The Prenzel Shop, Botany, 1st Runner Up: Devonport Chocolates, Devonport. 2nd Runner Up: Ashore Fine Food and Wine.

Online Retailing (sponsored by Telecom)

Winner: The Sleep Store www.thesleepstore.co.nz. 1st Runner Up: Belly Beyond www.bellybeyond.co.nz. 2nd Runner Up: Dream of Italy www.dreamofitaly.co.nz.

Start-Up Category (sponsored by Paymark)

Winner: Printinc Manukau. 1st Runner Up: Verdo Nails Parnell. 2nd Runner Up: Kiwiana Fish and Chips.

Retail Modern Apprentice (sponsored by the Retail Institute)

Winner: Katie Coxon, John Franich Jewellers