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Checkout's Best In Fresh Awards 2014

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Checkout's Best In Fresh Awards 2014

Tuesday 17 JuneFour Seasons Hotel, Dublin

The only awards to honour best practice in the sale of fresh produce, Checkout’s annual Best In Fresh Awards is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the grocery calendar.

The Awards, now in their eighth year, reward, encourage and promote excellence in fresh food retailing in Ireland, with retailers of all sizes and formats recognised for their high standards in this area. The Awards are open to all retail groups and independent retailers, including multiples, symbols, discounters and non-affiliated stores.

In addition, Checkout will present a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award to an individual that has surpassed all expectations in the sale and/or production of fresh produce, during his or her time in the industry, and continues to be a role model for those in the trade. Previous recipients of this award include Senator Feargal Quinn (Superquinn) and Ronnie Wilson (Monaghan Mushrooms).

A number of Sponsorship Opportunities are available for the event, for more information, click here

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How to Enter

To enter, please download an Entry Form by clicking here, fill it out, and return it to us along with a cheque (see Phase 1/Phase 2 below). The Entry Form can be found on the final page of this document.

All entries must be submitted by post to: The Editor, Checkout Publications, 3 Adelaide Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, with all entries to be received no later than 31st March 2014.

Alternatively, businesses can choose to enter via email, to [email protected]. If additional information such as photography is being submitted via email, please ensure files are kept under 3mb.

Please note there are two phases to the application process.

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Phase 1: To March 14 (Early Bird)

All entries must be accompanied by a cheque made out to Checkout Publications for €30 (Euro). This fee is payable for each STORE, and not for each category, so an individual store can enter in a number of categories and the cost remains €30 per entry.

Phase 2: To March 31

All entries that are received after March 14 need to be accompanied by a cheque made out to Checkout Publications for €45. This fee is payable for each STORE, and not for each category, so an individual store can enter in a number of categories and the cost remains €45 per entry.

Each store that enters the Awards is entitled to receive a copy of the mystery shopper audit which is used to shortlist the entrants.

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NOTE – Retail groups wishing to enter group categories (such as Best Multiple Fresh Food Retailer), or symbol groups wishing to enter stores on behalf of their independent retailers, should contact [email protected]

Judging Process

There are a total of 20 categories being judged this year. Retailers can enter as many categories as they like, but should indicate their store’s appropriateness and relevance to each category entered using the form attached.

Stores are then ‘mystery shopped’ by Customer Perceptions, where they are measured across almost 300 variables, with areas such as food hygiene, range, Irish sourcing, staff insight/knowledge, value for money, local ranges, ‘scratch’ preparation and presentation all audited.

Each store is judged against its peers, and is assessed based on its size and format to ensure a fair comparison is made.

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Following this process, a panel of industry experts visits stores that make it to the shortlisted stage, with the winners to be announced at the gala awards ceremony in June 2014. Finalists are chosen at Checkout’s discretion and judges’ decisions are final – no correspondence will be entered into in relation to disputes on shortlists or the auditing process.

Award Categories:

Retail Specific Awards

Excellence in fresh food retailing in a large supermarket (over 15,000 sq ft.)Excellence in fresh food retailing in a medium supermarket (10,000 to 15,000 sq ft.) Excellence in fresh food retailing in a small supermarket (4,000 to 10,000 sq ft.) Excellence in fresh food retailing in a forecourt store Excellence in fresh food retailing in a convenience storeMost creative fresh food retailer (any format) Best presentation of fresh food (any store format) Best Multiple/Retail Group fresh food retailer Best value-for-money fresh food retailer Best non-affilliated fresh food retailer (not part of a symbol or multiple) Most improved store Best fresh logistics/supply chain operation Lifetime achievement award

Departmental Awards (Applicable to non-specialist stores)

Ireland’s best fresh food offering in a deli area Ireland’s best fresh meat offering Ireland’s best fresh seafood offering Ireland’s best fresh fruit and vegetable offering Ireland’s best bakery offering Ireland’s freshest food-to-go offering Ireland’s best dairy offering Best ‘fresh concept’ Best local champion

Download an Entry Form by clicking here

All entries must be submitted by post to: The Editor, Checkout Publications, 3 Adelaide Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, with all entries to be received no later than 31st March 2014. Alternatively, businesses can choose to enter via email, to [email protected]

All entries, whether by post or email, must be accompanied by a €30 fee per store, if submitted in Phase 1, or €45 if submitted in Phase 2. All entrants can receive the preliminary audit results for their store by request. Please contact Checkout directly for any queries on group or block entries.

For further information, contact [email protected]

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