Tesco capped its impressive turnaround by winning ‘Grocer of the Year’ at The Grocer Gold Awards, beating off competition from discounters Lidl and Aldi in the closest contest in a number of years.
Britain’s largest retailer was also judged to be ‘Britain’s Favourite Supermarket’ for the third year in succession. This was the only award voted for by customers, with Tesco taking top place in seven of the 10 criteria on which the survey is based.
The supermarket also won the ‘Waste Not Want Not’ award, given for the very first time, as part of The Grocer’s ongoing campaign to reduce food wastage. Tesco was noted for its commitment to reducing waste, as well as its pioneering use of new technologies.
The Grocer’s editor, Adam Leyland, said: “It has been convincingly re-engineered from the ground up, its store standards have vastly improved despite slashing costs, and it has made incredible strides to restore its battered reputation.
“To get Tesco firing again has taken a Herculean effort from everyone involved at the supermarket, from the boardroom to the shop floor.”
Tesco were not the only company to leave feeling pleased however, as Iceland was voted ‘Online Supermarket of the Year’ for the first time in their history; Iceland also won ‘Business Initiative of the Year’ for its £2m development kitchen.
CEO Malcolm Walker said: “I am immensely grateful to The Grocer for the further endorsement provided by these great Awards.”
Sainsburys also had a successful night, with Redhill’s store manager Dave Curness taking the ‘Store Manager of the Year’ award, while the company as a whole won awards for both service and availability.
Asda had a slightly less successful evening, but did manage to win the award for ‘Britain’s Cheapest Supermarket’ for the 20th consecutive year.
While they may have missed out on the ‘Grocer of the Year’ title, Aldi received the ‘Employer of the Year’.
Matthew Barnes, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We’re thrilled to have been named Employer of the Year at The Grocer Gold Awards.
“We are dedicated to being the best supermarket employer in the UK. Our unprecedented growth in recent years has seen a fleet of new stores opening up and down the country.
“Our plans for ongoing expansion means that we will need more high-performing individuals to help us attain even more exciting growth in the years ahead.”
The discount retailer continues to be the highest-paying supermarket in the UK, raising its minimum wage for the second year in succession. The figure now stands at £8.53 per hour (£9.75 in London), considerably higher than the national living wage of £7.20 per hour.