Local stores’ success at Gala awards
The 2022 Gala Retail BEST Awards took place last week, where five Gala Retail stores from throughout Tipperary were recognised for excellence in retailing. The awards ceremony took place in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney following the annual Gala Retail conference and trade fair.
A regular fixture at the annual Gala conference, the BEST awards are presented to Gala Group stores that are deemed ‘outstanding’, following a comprehensive and independent assessment process under the Gala ‘Business Excellence Standards Tool’ (BEST) programme. The conference and awards ceremony were MC’d by television presenter Lucy Kennedy, who also presented the awards to winners on the night.
The Tipperary stores that received Gala BEST Awards at the event were Larkin’s Gala, Ballina and four Mulrooney's Gala stores in Nenagh, Roscrea, Templemore, and Portumna. The Mulrooney Group were also awarded the 2022 Social Media Champion Award.
Speaking at the awards, CEO of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond, congratulated the winning stores for their continuous dedication and excellence in retailing: “The Gala Group is thrilled to be back for our first in-person conference and BEST awards since 2019 and to have the opportunity to celebrate our Tipperary retailers for all of the hard work and effort that is made daily to ensure that their stores continue to go the extra mile for Gala customers.
“The Gala BEST awards recognise excellence in retailing across the entire Gala Group of stores and after a particularly challenging couple of years, now more than ever, our retailers deserve to be recognised for their service to the local community and their continued commitment to meeting the ever-changing needs of their consumers. We offer our congratulations to all of the Tipperary stores who have been recognised as outstanding in the field of convenience retailing and wish all our award winners from Tipperary another successful year and look forward to celebrating their future successes.’’
With a theme of ‘Grow as One’, the 2022 Gala conference brought together Gala retailers, wholesalers and suppliers for a celebration of the Gala Group’s performance and an overview of plans for the future, as well as an action packed few days of activities including the supplier trade fair, group activities and the Gala BEST awards.
CEO of Gala Retail, Mr Desmond spoke about the success of the Gala Group’s marketing activities and partnerships, including its award-winning partnership with Special Olympics Ireland and the upcoming Gala Retail Inspiration Awards, which celebrate those who have demonstrated a spirit of compassion in their community. The Gala Retail Inspiration Awards will see a winner selected from every county, with €26,000 of prizes - €1,000 hotel getaway gifts being awarded to every county winner.