Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe SmithLocal Norwich North MP Chloe Smith has announced the winners of the ‘Great Local Shop of the Year 2014’ competition in which customers voted online for their favourite local retailer.
Cards ‘n’ Things in Hellesdon was the lucky winning shop which received the most votes from customers across north Norwich. Paul Southgate who runs the popular card shop said “I’d like to firstly thank my Mum & Dad (David and Ruth Southgate) who started the business over 25 years ago and instilled the importance of serving the local community and good customer service. I would also like to thank our members of staff who work very hard to keep those standards, and a special thanks to our loyal customers, especially those who voted and who continue to shop with us and other local shops. Finally, thank you to Chloe for organising the Great Local Shop Competition to raise the profile and value of local shops in the community.”
As the overall winning shop, Cards ‘n’ Things will be given a new website donated by local IT company Computer Service Centre.
The competition, which was launched in February and ran to the end of April, was aimed at promoting business in our community. Having customers vote for their favourite shop was a great opportunity to encourage people to shop locally but was also a way of saying thank you to the local retailers.
Chloe said, “We have so many fantastic retailers here in Norwich North. Our community would be very much worse off without the hardworking men and women who run them. This competition was about letting our local retailers know how much we appreciate and support them. I want to thank everyone who got involved in this, whether you were winners or not. I hope all local retailers benefit from this campaign.”