National title for Nelson garden centre
For the fifth time Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson has taken out the title of Garden Centre of the Year at the national retailer’s annual awards.
Measuring almost 100m x 40m, the store’s garden centre boasts an impressive display of colour and stock, backed up by a passionate team and creative display themes.
Award judges praised the store for the quality of its garden offering, singling out the garden centre team for ‘‘taking real pride in only delivering the best to customers.’’
Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson chief executive, Brandon Beveridge, says the win is great validation for the hard working team.
‘‘[Garden centre coordinator] Felicity Thomson and her team are all garden enthusiasts with a wealth of experience and a passion for helping our customers get the best out of their gardens,’’ Beveridge says.
‘‘They do an outstanding job of exemplifying a focus on customer service that is found across our entire store and it’s great to see them being recognised for their efforts.’’
The store was assessed by a panel of judges on customer and supplier feedback, store presentation, staff performance and financial performance, and was found to have the best garden centre out of the 81 Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 MEGA stores nationwide.
Mitre 10
MEGA Nelson marketing coordinator Murray Leaning notes that a key focus across the store is to design inviting product displays that draw customers in and the garden centre is no exception.
‘‘[Store visual merchandiser] Steve Kelly and the garden centre team have put a put a lot of effort and creativity into showcasing the colour, diversity, quality and freshness of our stock range and it really shows,’’ Leaning says.
‘‘One of the most popular places for customers is the store cafe’s outdoor seating area which is situated right in the middle of the garden centre – a really relaxing space that often draws compliments for its positive atmosphere.’’
Mitre 10 CEO Neil Cowie praised Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson, saying they held off tough competition to claim this year’s Mitre 10 Garden Centre of the Year title.
‘‘Choosing this year’s finalists for the Garden Centre category was difficult as so many of our stores have a great garden centre offering,’’ Cowie says.
‘‘The Nelson team really proved that their exceptional customer service was above the rest, and that’s what won them the title.’’
The Mitre 10 New Zealand Awards were held last month in Auckland at the Airport Novotel , acknowledging the efforts of team members across the country to demonstrate the New Zealand cooperative’s continuing focus on customer experience.