A celebration of businesses big and small was held to mark the achievements of local firms at the Echo Awards.
The event, which was attended by more than 300 people, was hosted inside the Rum Warehouse at the Titanic Hotel, honouring some of Liverpool’s largest stores and independent outlets for their success.
Liverpool Echo Editor-in-chief, Alastair Machray, opened the proceedings with a welcome speech praising the city’s businesses, saying their achievements were due to “bright and bubbly people”, as well as “the smiles, the style and the extra mile”.
The event who all joined together to share the accomplishment made by the retailers who give life to the city’s economy.
Liverpool One and the Grosvenor won this year’s Icon Award after being recognised for their influence and positive impact on the city.
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Hotel Chocolat was honoured with the ‘Best Pit-Stop’ award, and store manager, Hannah Humphries, was full of praise for the work of her team. She told JMU Journalism: “Hats off to them. Credit where credit’s due, we wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for them. It made me very proud of them and obviously they’re very proud of themselves. It’s a good store and a good team.”
Miss Humphries also spoke of the benefits the award would bring to the company, saying: “I think the award represents the shop and the business the best. We’ve worked on how we execute our service. It showcases the type of business we are and the type of business we want to be.”
Independent businesses also thrived at the event, with retailer Artisane taking home the award for Best Independent Business, and That’s Entertainment Dancewear gaining the Highly Commended title.
That’s Entertainment Dancewear also won Excellence in Visual Merchandising, which came as a surprise for store owner Gill Turner, 50, who said: “Obviously, we were up against so many big stores and the budgets they have for their visual merchandise are much bigger than ours and we’re all really pleased to have won something like that.
“It puts us more on the map within the Liverpool community. It is hard being an independent in today’s retail market you have to keep on your toes.”