‘Store of the Year’ award for Casey’s Londis!

A Roscommon town business was celebrating last week as it was crowned ‘Store of the Year’ at the exclusive 2023 Fed Awards at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Casey’s Londis, Athlone Road, Roscommon held off competition from UK and Irish stores to win the top award from one of Europe’s largest employers’ associations.

The ceremony, held at the plush London hotel, was hosted by BBC presenter Naga Munchetty on Tuesday, January 24th.

The Federation of Independent Retailers is a not-for-profit organisation with over 10,000 members across Ireland and the UK.

Irish start-ups hit six-year low

Ireland’s new company start-up levels reached their lowest point in six years due to economic uncertainty brought about by rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, according to the latest figures from credit analyst CRIFVision-net.

A total of 21,637 new start-ups were registered in 2022, the lowest figure on record since 2016 (21,018). Last year’s figure also marked an overall decrease of 16 per cent from 2021.

Casey’s were announced as winners by Booker Group’s customer director Martin Swadling and manager Jim McCausland was on hand to collect the award from Fed’s National President Jason Birks.

Mr. Birks commented: “Last spring, I was part of a group that flew over to Ireland for a whistle-stop tour of some of our members’ stores, and the positivity and ingenuity I saw has made a lasting impression.

“One store in particular blew me away, as the owner truly knows and understands the demographic of his customer base and he tailors this offering accordingly.

“In short, Casey’s thoroughly embraces the ethos of being an independent retailer. I decided that he deserved recognition for displaying excellence and ingenuity across all retail disciplines”.

THE BUSINESS BRIEF(S)

February.

The former Armagh star has worked with the who’s who of business and sporting leaders over the last 25 years and they share their stories in his new book.

General Manager of Intel Ireland, Eamonn Sinnott and Irish rugby legend

Former All Star, All-Ireland winning footballer and entrepreneur Enda McNulty will launch his second book ‘Commit

Rory Best are among those who share their stories and insights with Enda in his latest publication.

Commit 2 Lead! will be available in all good bookshops from February 23rd, websites and direct from www.mcnultyperformance.com.

70% of consumers looking to EV option

Ireland’s largest car website, DoneDeal, in association with the SEAI, found that 70 per cent of Irish consumers are considering an electric vehicle as their next car purchase.

Last year was the first time an electric vehicle, the Volkswagen ID.4, was the most in-demand new car on the website and that trend has continued into 2023. Onsite demand for new and used electric vehicles grew by 33 per cent in

2022, while demand for diesel vehicles fell by 39 per cent.

€1m investment in western solar project

Astatine, a leading renewable heat and power specialist, recently announced a €1 million investment project in the west of Ireland. The project, at the CMLS Limited cold storage facility in Oranmore, Co. Galway, involved the upgrading of the building’s roof to solar power, and is expected to deliver 50 per cent energy savings and carbon cuts of 25 per cent for the business. CMLS Limited is one of Ireland’s fastest growing supply chain management companies, delivering services for businesses in the retail, food service, and manufacturing sectors.