Rising stars: The next generation of retail leaders

She was presented with the award by Theo Paphitis at a lively ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Thursday.

She also took home the Area Manager of the Year trophy.

The Iceland Graduate of the Year was awarded to Annie Smith from Halfords. Thea Wilson from The Perfume Shop received the Marketing or Social Team/Individual of the Year Award.

Other winners on the night included Martyn Allan, Store Manager at Ikea Manchester, Georgina Stringfellow, Order Helpline Supervisor at Carpetright and the Dixons Carphone team for their Knowhow Apprenticeship Programme. See the full list of winners below.

And the winners are…

Award	Type	Name	Company	Job title
Above & Beyond Award in association with Retail Week Be Inspired	Mark of Excellence	Zoe Simpson	Cineworld Cinemas	Team Member
Above & Beyond Award in association with Retail Week Be Inspired	Winner	David Swinbourne	Dixons Carphone	Regional Manager
Apprentice of the Year	Mark of Excellence	Billy Bowen	Co-op	Apprentice
Apprentice of the Year	Winner	Jessica Heppleston	Jack Hinton Electrical	Trade Counter Apprentice
The Iceland Graduate of the Year	Mark of Excellence	Stephen Hodson	Ikea	Self-Serve Warehouse Manager
The Iceland Graduate of the Year	Winner	Annie Smith	Halfords	Assistant Store Manager
Area Manager of the Year	Winner	Rachel Carr	Majestic Wine	Regional Manager
HR Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Matt Sadler	Dixons Carphone	Training Manager – Knowhow Customer Contact Centre
Buyer Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Rachael Antal	N Brown Group	Senior Buyer Brands
Customer Service Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Christopher Bates	Holland & Barrett	Customer Services Resource Planner
Employer Initiative of the Year	Winner	Knowhow Apprenticeship Programme	Dixons Carphone
Marketing or Social Media Team/Individual of the Year	Mark of Excellence	Regan Howard	Nisa Retail	Creative Project Executive
Marketing or Social Media Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Thea Wilson	The Perfume Shop	CRM Manager
Store Support Manager of the Year	Winner	Georgina Stringfellow	Carpetright	Order Helpline Supervisor
Merchandiser Team/Individual of the Year	Mark of Excellence	Julia Tregenza	N Brown Group	Merchandiser – Ladies Sports, Swim & Nightwear
Merchandiser Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Jamie Canham	Vodafone	Space Planning Manager
Online or Digital Team/Individual of the Year	Winner	Retail Online Team	National Trust
Store Manager of the Year: 0 – 5,000 sq ft	Mark of Excellence	Dan Brown	Nisa Retail	Store Manager
Store Manager of the Year: 0 – 5,000 sq ft	Winner	David Dennis	T.M. Lewin	Store Manager
Store Manager of the Year: 5,000 sq ft - 20,000 sq ft in association with Retail Week E-Learning	Mark of Excellence	Susie Mould	Dreams	Store Manager
Store Manager of the Year: 5,000 sq ft – 20,000 sq ft in association with Retail Week E-Learning	Winner	Andy Martin	Carpetright	Store Manager
Store Manager of the Year: 20,000+ sq ft	Winner	Martyn Allan	Ikea	Store Manager
The Theo Paphitis Retail Group Rising Star of the Year	Winner	Rachel Carr	Majestic Wine	Regional Manager

Hear more about the winners…

Above and Beyond Award

Mark of Excellence Zoe Simpson,Cineworld Cinema’s team member

Zoe, who started her apprenticeship in August 2015, has made a huge impact on the Cineworld team in Feltham. She is phenomenally enthusiastic and goes out of her way to seek broader experiences and involve herself in new initiatives.

Winner Dixons Carphone’s regional manager, David Swinbourne

With Dave Swinbourne’s unwavering support for his colleagues and his extensive charity work, he embodies the term “going above and beyond” like no other. His drive, compassion and humility make him a truly exceptional manager and he remains a priceless asset within Dixons Carphone.

Apprentice of the Year

Mark of Excellence Co-op – Billy Bowen, apprentice

When Billy joined the Co-op in April last year, he had never previously considered a career in retail.

On the apprentice programme, he has shown amazing tenacity and willingness to learn while working in a brand new environment.

Winner Jack Hinton Electrical – Jessica Heppleston, trade counter apprentice

This is Jessica’s first retail role and she has been in the post for less than a year, but had gone above and beyond what is expected of her and has made a big impression.

Area Manager of the Year

Winner Majestic Wine, Rachel Carr, regional manager

At only 28, Rachel has created the most successful region through building teams, engagement and positivity. She is driven, committed and a huge asset to Majestic.

HR Team/Individual of the Year

Winner Dixons Carphone – Matt Sadler, training manager

Matt has redeveloped and re-energised the way Knowhow trains its people to great success.

He does not aspire to progress personally throughout the company, rather his aspirations are to inspire and guide the future leaders at Knowhow/Dixons Carphone, and those just starting out in their career.

He says: “I love the job that I do, learning and development is rewarding and it is a privilege to shape someone’s future career and I hope that someday I’m someone they can look back on and think of where they started.”

Buyer Team/Individual of the Year

Winner N Brown Group – Rachael Antal, senior buyer brands

Despite a busy schedule, Rachael has been a fabulous mentor to two junior buyers, one of whom has recently been promoted. She is always willing to take on new challenges and projects and is determined to make a successful career in buying.

Customer Service Team/Individual of the Year

Winner Holland & Barrett – Christopher Bates, customer services resource planner

Christopher made an instant impact in a matter of months. Through hard work, initiative and personal charm he’s produced astounding results and vastly improved customer service – not just within his own team, but in others across the business.

His ultimate ambition is to join the board of a business, offering leadership at the most senior level to a large organisation.

Employer Initiative of the Year

Dixons Carphone – Knowhow Apprenticeship Programme

The Knowhow Apprenticeship Programme has been in operation since 2013 and during that time it has offered employment opportunities to over 200 young people. The programme operates within the Sheffield-based contact centre and 51 apprentices currently work across the customer service, inbound sales and technical support divisions.

Marketing or Social Media Team/Individual of the Year

Mark of Excellence Nisa Retail – Regan Howard, creative project executive

Regan is a very driven and focused individual who is always looking for opportunities to develop and she is keen to progress within the marketing and creative arena - be it with Nisa or elsewhere.

Winner The Perfume Shop – Thea Wilson, CRM manager

Thea Wilson is a key member of The Perfume Shops team, and has been instrumental in bringing the team closer to the customer over the last year and has been a great support in helping the business reach its sales and performance goals. One day, she’d like to be managing director.

Store Support Manager of the Year

Carpetright – Georgina Stringfellow, order helpline supervisor

Georgina is a fantastic example of how a “stores-first” attitude coupled with retail knowledge and the ability to use initiative can generate fantastic results. She is continually looking for ways to improve.

Merchandiser Team/Individual of the Year

Mark of Excellence N Brown Group – Julia Tregenza, Merchandiser, ladies sports, swim & nightwear

Julia is one of JD Williams’ star performers. She has the technical skill set required to succeed and displays drive, tenacity and a positive attitude. She is ultimately looking to progress to a head of merchandising role.

Winner Vodafone – Jamie Canham, space planning manager

Jamie is an outstanding individual who has transformed personally, developed his team and driven significant commercial benefits in a short period of time. Driving change and improvement is fundamentally engrained into his being.

Online or Digital Team/Individual of the Year

National Trust, retail online team

The National Trust retail online team have worked together to develop marketing plans that have increased site traffic and have significantly improved the online experience, introducing new content pages, improving range, stock availability, photography and merchandising that have resulted in consistent year-on-year sales growth.

Store Manager of the Year – 0 – 5,000 sq ft

Mark of Excellence

Nisa Retail – Dan Brown, store manager

Dan’s eagerness and appetite to succeed has rolled over into aiding and improving efficiencies, training and staff accountability. He has a vast knowledge of convenience retail and his character swallows up whatever challenge lands at his doorstep. The more challenging a role, the more Dan will excel.

Winner T.M. Lewin – David Dennis, store manager

An outstanding performer, David is an inspiring role model and leader. By influencing senior stakeholders, David adds value to the brand and shapes the future of T.M. Lewin. With aspirations to work internationally, he is surely one to watch for the future.

Store Manager of the Year – 5,000 sq ft – 20,000 sq ft

Mark of Excellence Dreams – Susie Mould, store manager

As manager of Dreams Blackburn, Susie has developed her team through strong leadership and coaching methods resulting in a consistently positive performing store. Susie has made it known she wants a bigger store. Her dream is to give all other flagships stores across the company something to aspire to.

Winner Carpetright – Andy Martin, store manager

Andy is a talented, committed and enthusiastic store manager who leads his team to generate some fantastic results, even in the face of stiff competition or difficult conditions. Now Andy has shown his worth and potential as a store manager, he is very keen to progress to a regional manager role.

Store Manager of the Year – 20,000 sq ft +

Ikea, Martyn Allan, store manager

Since Martyn joined Ikea Manchester as store manager in 2015, he has transformed the in-store customer experience and the team’s working environment.

With his dedication to improving co-workers’ lives and the in-store customer experience, Martyn has boosted sales development by 10% and profitability by 8.5%, and decreased staff turnover from 31.8% to 22.3%.

The Theo Paphitis Retail Group Rising Star of the Year

Majestic Wine – Rachel Carr, regional manager

Rachel has created a clear vision for her teams and engaged them with her goal. She has a natural ability to empower others while still gaining respect from her teams. When she was on holiday, her store managers created a #ImadeRachelproud hashtag when they hit their target for the month.

She has a strong understanding of what incredible customer service looks like and the type of people needed to support Majestic. Her positivity, charm and wicked sense of humour has meant her teams are on board with changes in the organisation.