bestway awards
...and a good time was had by all It’s taken time, but at last Bestway Group chief executive Zameer Choudrey has emerged as a stand-up comedian of some merit, writes Mervyn Gilbert. For reasons best known to himself – or maybe because his cohorts have told him to interact more with his audience – he has always ended his address at corporate functions with a joke. Mostly, the punchline has been delivered without warning and guests have applauded, somewhat embarrassed, not realising the humorous climax has been reached. At the group’s 12th retailer development awards, held at London’s Grosvenor House, Choudrey adopted the same format – serious stuff about the group’s progress and its aims for the future (see p.4), followed by the ‘must do’ joke. This time, the subject of his wisecrack was the House of Man and the House of Woman – how each sex chooses a partner. After an amusing build-up, with improved diction and excellent timing, he turned a captive audience of nearly 500 with straight faces into a mass of clapping and laughing guests – a hard act to follow for ‘specialist’ comedian, Stephen K Amos.
Award winners Overall winner was Ishtiaq Qureshi, of Llanrumney Stores, Cardiff. He collected a prize of £10,000. Some 22 other retailers shared a pot of £22,000. They were: Northern winner: Mohammed Hameed and Mohammed Aslam, Lightbowne, Post Office, Moston, Manchester. Southern winner: Anil Mittal, Slip End Superstore, Luton. Scottish winner: Mohammed Issa MBE, 1st Stop 2 Shop, Dundee. Community award: Sritharan Vairamuttu and Rahini Sritharan, Amiu’s General Store, Pondhill, near Oxford. Best-one national winner: Vacaas Ali, Washington, Tyne & Wear. Northern runner-up: Muneeb Sarwar, RZ Supermarket, Redditch. Southern runner-up: Paul and Gail Mather, Sherston PO, Malmesbury.
Overall winners Ishtiaq and Sadia Qureshi, of Llanrumney Stores, Cardiff, with Bestway Group chief executive Zameer Choudrey (left) and Bestway C&C md Younus Sheikh.
Scottish runner-up: Abdul Rashid, Salina Mini Market, New Stevenston, North Lanarkshire. Best-one runner-up: Nayan Amin, Dunstable. Category awards: Chilled & frozen: Mr and Mrs Cheema, Avenue Food & Wine, Sheerness. General grocery: David Leak, Much Hoole Village Shop, Preston. Household, health & beauty: Kiran Patel, Buttershaw Food Stores, Bradford. Tobacco: Harinder Khela, Khela Food & Wine, Springfield, Leeds. Confectionery: Muhammad Nadeem, Elves Food City, North London. Crisps & snacks: Sukhwinder Badhan, Midland News & PO, Wychbold, Droitwich. Soft drinks: Zaffar Mahmood, Bestbuy, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough. Water: Santosh Sundaresan, BMP Star Supermarket, SE London. Wines & spirits: Kuruparan Suppiah, Hatters News, Luton. Beer & cider: Kalpesh Raja, Parker Drive Service Station, Leicester. Petfood: Aravinthan Jeyasingam, Ashton Stores, Luton. Baby food: Thangarajah Karunakaran, Bungalow Shop, Luton.
Best-one winner Vacaas Ali, whose store is in Washington, Tyne & Wear, with director of symbol retailing James Hall. With Zameer Choudrey are northern winners Mohammed Hameed and Mohammed Aslam.
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Cash & Carry Management
• November 2013 • 15