New Look bags first 2022 win in Critizr Proud Of My Store competition
Critizr has announced New Look as the first monthly winner for the second edition of its Proud Of My Store competition.
The aim here is to celebrate the exceptional people working in store teams around the UK.
New Look was recognised for its South Shields team.
“This is a wonderful honour and our whole team is thrilled to have our hard work recognised in the Proud of My Store competition,” says Store Manager Serena Martinez, who has worked with New Look since joining as a trainee aged 17.
“I’ve been in retail for my whole career and our success is down to some simple mantras that I live by – ones that I’ve also coached my team to follow. Firstly, this is the customers’ store. We work here, but we’re here for customers, and we need to create an amazing vibe so that they feel the positive energy as soon as they come through the door.”
“We are a small store but we work really hard to make sure customers get a big experience when they’re here - from the friendly hello at the door to the help we give them with styling, fitting and advice.”
She adds: ‘Secondly, I never forget that customers choose a person before a product. We had a ‘Pretty Woman’ moment quite recently when a customer came to do a fairly big shop with us after she wasn’t treated very well in another store.”
“It reminded me that shoppers come to us for our people, just as much as the great fashion we have on sale. Finally, we all have huge pride in being part of our local area.”
“There are a lot of empty units on King Street, but I’m from this town, I understand what local customers need, and our team works hard to build something special that works locally and draws people in.”
“We never settle for mediocre, and this approach translates into our store’s performance which is amongst the region’s best.”
Don’t delay, enter today!
If a team has gone above and beyond for a customer, done something incredible in the community or found a clever, creative way to make their store stand out, then Critizr want to hear about it.
An online hub is now open for entries from supermarket branches, boutiques, banks, pharmacies, salons, restaurants and more, inviting them to tell their local store’s story.
Monthly winners will be selected from April until June, with one overall team being crowned ‘Proudest Store 2022’ in July by a panel of retail experts.
As well as scooping luxury hampers to share with the team, and a donation to the store’s favourite charity, all winners will be guests of Critizr at an event later in the year, where their achievements will be celebrated in person.
Nicolas Hammer, Co-founder and CEO at Critizr, says: “Local store teams were the heroes of the hour during lockdown, and as the entries came in during Proud of My Store last year, we could see that there were a lot of amazing things happening locally as stores acted quickly to serve their customers.”
“There were some incredible and quite moving stories that were an education as well as an inspiration to us all.”
“It’s so important that these teams continue to build their voice and that the retail industry keeps listening.”
“Today, we value our local stores and the people who work in them more than ever, and businesses are waking up to just how powerful their frontline staff are in doing what’s right for their own customers.”
‘So don’t miss out! I’d urge all local managers and staff to show their team just how proud they are of everything they achieve together by entering Proud of My Store this year.”
“It’s going to be a wonderful celebration of the people that keep our vibrant and vital retail industry going and we can’t wait to start reading this year’s store stories.”
The inaugural Proud of My Store competition was won by the Co-op’s Claire Saunders, from Romford in London.
Having witnessed the rising number of local people struggling financially during the pandemic, her team founded a clothing bank to recycle and redistribute donated clothing between families.
The initiative was so successful that it blossomed into an official charity, The Baby Bank HQ, and Saunders went on to be recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours list with a British Empire Medal.
She comments: ‘It’s so important that local stores are proud of what they do because they are the heart of the community. Teamwork is the most important thing and without a team you can’t achieve anything.”
“Winning Proud of My Store last year meant the world to me and my team and we were absolutely over the moon. It kept us positive and we couldn’t scream loud enough about that to our lovely community and other stores.”
