Local shops in national top 100

TWO Ennis businesses have been named among the top 100 stores in Ireland. Both Madden Furniture, on Station Road, and Willow, on O’Connell Street, have made Retail Excellence Ireland’s list of the best stores in the country. The Ennis businesses are also the only stores in Clare to make the prestigious list.
As part of the Top 100 selection process, all store entrants were visited by a mystery shopper, with those exceeding service and standards criteria making it to the Top 100 stores.
Aoife Madden of Madden Furniture told us, “We are also thrilled to have made it onto this list. We had no idea when the mystery shopper was here but we got huge marks from them for our customer service – that is the main focus of this part of the awards. Because of our square footage, we are in the superstore category, that means we are up against the likes of Harvey Nichols that also made the list.
“It’s a huge achievement for everybody here to have done so well. I suppose one of the things that does set us apart in terms of customer service is that we’re a family business. When you come here, you will meet either myself, my mother, sister or staff who have been here for years. Big department stores don’t necessarily have that.”
Meanwhile, Jean McCabe from Willow said, “A lot of hard work has gone into this but it’s been worth it, we’re all so delighted. The mystery shopper was very thorough, even commenting that the make-up of those working here was very appropriate.
“I believe that if you put in the effort you will get the reward. We clean our shop front every day and have our window boxes up. And the shop has been painted twice in the last six months. We invest back into the shop and we always strive to provide excellent customer service. Getting on this list has been a big team effort.”
A team of store assessors will now visit each of the Top 100 stores, selecting top 50 stores and then the final top 30. The winning stores will be selected based on the report data gathered and a review of store photography and in-store video recording evidence.
The Top 100 stores are part of the Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) Awards, which were established in 1997 to promote best practice standards in the Irish retail industry.
The awards, taking place on Saturday, November 3, focus on promoting and recognising standards of excellence in retail. The awards programme is now the largest and most prestigious of its kind in Ireland.
David Fitzsimons, chief executive, Retail Excellence Ireland commented, “I want to commend all of the retailers who entered this year. In particular, I congratulate the Top 100 stores for making it through. The very high standard of service, customer engagement, display and levels of investment among Irish retailers made selecting this year’s Top 100 particularly difficult. The REI awards are about recognising and rewarding retail excellence.
“High standards are particularly important given the very severe challenges currently facing Ireland’s retail industry. It is clear from the quality of this year’s entrants that the retail industry is playing its part in trying to keep businesses open and retail workers in jobs. Initiatives like the Town and City Management Framework are created to help revitalise towns and cities across Ireland which in turn will re-engage with citizens and customers alike.”