Two Westmeath retailers picked up national awards this week at the SPAR annual 5 Star Awards ceremony, held in Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny.
Two stores in Westmeath, Connor’s SPAR Mullingar and Donegan’s Garrycastle, Athlone, picked up the prestigious 5 Star Award.
The awards programme, which is run by SPAR Ireland in association with the Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA ), is now in its 11th year and is a highlight of the SPAR calendar which recognises excellence in all areas of store performance.
The year-long assessment involves surprise audits by mystery shoppers, SPAR personnel, and EIQA, covering shop presentation, customer care, and food safety. Retailers also carry out their own self-assessments on a monthly basis.
Willie O’Byrne, managing director of BWG Foods (owners and operators of the SPAR brand in Ireland ), said: “SPAR retailers in Westmeath should be congratulated for their dedication to ensuring we are market leaders in this regard. The management of SPAR understand the importance of constantly re-evaluating and updating our 5 Star assessment methods and standards and our retailers always meet the challenge of achieving them.”
There are 460 SPAR stores operating throughout the Republic of Ireland, providing employment for over 14,000 people at local level and supporting many local Irish suppliers around the country.
SPAR Ireland, part of the BWG Group, incorporates the three SPAR formats of EUROSPAR for family and supermarket shopping, SPAR for convenience and neighbourhood shopping, and SPAR Express for forecourt shopping.
