Excellence awards for two Centra stores in county

Sweeneys Centra Ratoath and Costellos Centra Kilmessan have been awarded excellence awards at the Pride of Centra awards, Centra’s national award ceremony. Held in the Mansion House in Dublin, Centra’s national award ceremony recognises and celebrates the best of Centra stores, its people and exemplary retail excellence.

The ceremony awarded Sweeneys Centra Ratoath the accolade of ‘Bakery of the Year’. During the auditing process for ‘Bakery of the Year’, Sweeneys stood out for its merchandising, range, freshness and cleanliness.

Costellos Centra Kilmessan was announced as winner of best ‘Local Activation’. The ‘Local Activation’ award represents stores which have brought the brand to life locally, with activities such as charity events, sustainability initiatives and local sponsorships. Costellos Centra Kilmessan was commended for its charity cycle and its considerable fundraising drive which resulted in first aid training for over 450 sixth class students. The local activation was commended for being a positive change for good not only in their community but nationwide.

The award ceremony consisted of 18 awards on the night and welcomed 93 finalists. The awards fell into three categories - ‘People’, ‘Excellence’ and ‘Store of the Year’. The ‘People’ category acknowledged staff who demonstrated exceptional passion and enthusiasm for the – such as Length of Service award and Employee of the Year. The ‘Excellence’ awards shone a light on stores delivering the best of Centra across the in-store categories Deli, Moo’d, Bakery, Off Licence and Local Activations. The ‘Store of the Year’ awards celebrate excellence in convenience retailing and exceptional consumer experience.

Cormac Dawson, Sales Director, Centra, commended finalists in the ‘People’ and ‘Excellence’ category: “We are proud to recognise and celebrate our people who deliver exceptional service to their local community. These finalists offer the very best in retail excellence and are a testament to their teams hard work and determination in offering a consistently great service to their community on a daily basis.”

Ian Allen, managing director of Centra said: "As the leading convenience retailer with approximately 12,000 employees and 496 stores across Ireland, we are delighted to recognise and reward the very best of convenience excellence from our people and stores. Congratulations to Sweeneys Centra Ratoath and Costellos Centra Kilmessan for winning these awards; it’s a testament to the exceptional standards, commitment and service they offer on a daily basis”.

Centra is Ireland’s leading convenience retailer serving over 3.5 million customers per week, providing convenient shopping with value and quality front of mind. With 496 bright and accessible stores, Centra supports over 38,000 jobs and directly employs approximately 12,000 people across the country. At the heart of the communities in which it operates, Centra are sponsors of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since 2010. Centra is part of Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland.