Forecourt stores have won more than half the retail categories at the annual awards for Nisa members and suppliers.

The awards were presented during the annual dinner at Stoneleigh Park, with forecourts picking up three of the seven retail awards, in addition to the Best Forecourt category.

Nisa Local, Oxbridge Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, won the accolade for Best Forecourt Store, with its owner John Stevenson being presented with the award by Nisa chief executive Neil Turton.

The citation said: “The winner is an exceptional forecourt store which was five years in the planning and was delivered to the highest standard. The store was featured in Nisa’s first TV advertisement due to its high standards and is a great success story.”

The other three awards won by forecourts were all for sites in Northern Ireland. The award for the best supermarket was presented to Frank Hagan, owner of Nisa Extra, Fiveways, in Newry. The site was described as “a beacon of great retailing; from humble beginnings as a forecourt store, it has been developed into a full range new build supermarket that opened in September 2011. The store delivers total excellence in terms of its extensive offering and high store standards.”

Sean Hughes and Grainne Hughes, owners of Nisa Extra, Camlough, County Armagh, were presented with The Best Fresh Food Store award.

The citation said: “The award goes to a relatively new member that joined Nisa last year and has since extended and re-fitted the store to a very high standard. Its fresh food offering has been taken to a new level demonstrating that an independent can beat multiple retailers.”

The Best Use of Technology Award was received by Tom McAvoy from Nisa Local, Rathfriland, County Down. He was said to have made exceptional use of Nisa’s epositive EPoS system with innovative development of social media to drive business forward and develop positive relations with its customers.

Neil Turton commented: “Each year at our Stoneleigh exhibition we take time to acknowledge retailers and suppliers who have shown areas of excellence within the last year. It is great to see such strong retailers in Nisa membership who epitomise the true meaning of independent retailing.”

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