LOCAL STORE WINS COMMUNITY RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Martins of Castle Cary store, owned by Terry and Melanie Philpott who are members of Londis, has won community retailer of the year in the 2005 Retail Industry Awards, the “Oscars” of the industry, which celebrate the very best in UK grocery retailing.

The judges said that Martins was a community store in every sense of the word, stocking locally produced goods and supporting local community causes. 

The judges were particularly impressed that many of the 8,000 lines in-store came from local producers, ranging from meat and sausages to cheeses, organic wine and ice cream.  Contact with local producers has allowed Martins to source special orders for local events in town, including tiger prawns for Sherborne School, haggis for New Year and Burns Night celebrations.

Last year the store introduced a local delivery service, mainly aimed at the elderly who find it difficult to do their own shopping.

And it was the store’s work in the community that particularly appealed to the judges, including supporting local schools.  Amongst others Martins has worked closely with Ansford Community School and 25 pupils visited the shop to see how the in-store technology worked. The couple have volunteered to take on a student for one week’s work experience later this year.