An iconic North-east store has picked up a top award at the retail industry’s ‘Oscars’.
The Spotty Bag Shop has been named Bespoke Retailer of the Year at the Scottish Independent Retail Awards.
And it is the second award in a few weeks for the Banff store, following success in the recent Raring2Go awards.
The latest success for The Spotty Bag Shop came at a glittering award ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow with hundreds of people in attendance.
The independent retail awards, now in its fifth year, aims to highlight the value of independent retailers to the communities they operate in.
Spotty Bag owner Des Cheyne said: “This is a fantastic award to win and the fact that it comes hard on the heels of the Raring2Go success is doubly gratifying. It suggests that we are doing something right and again is testament to the hard work of all the staff.
“Awards are important because they can be a benchmark of all the effort and endeavour that we have put in and they provide tangible evidence that all this hard work is indeed worthwhile. ”
The store was last week named Best Family Retailer/Shop at the Raring2Go awards.
Raring2Go is Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire’s only magazine dedicated to families and the public voted for their favourite in the various categories available.
And both awards follows approval earlier this year to go forward with an ambitious £2million development which will increase the workforce by 50% and expand substantially the store, café and goods available.
During a momentous few weeks it was also announced that The Spotty Bag Shop would sponsor local Highland team Deveronvale for the next three seasons.
When the redevelopment of the store is complete The Spotty Bag Shop will be the largest employer in Banff with approximately 90 staff.
Mr Cheyne said: “These are exciting times for The Spotty Bag Shop and as we grow we will never lose sight of what we are, which is a community-orientated store, but also a significant tourist draw. Being born and bred in Banff, I like to think that we are helping to put the town on the map with the help of our fantastic customers and staff and hopefully this can also have a knock-on effect and encourage others in the local area to really go for it.”