By James Wells

SYDNEY: Seven retailers have been recognised by over 100 suppliers as finalists for the Best Retail Store in Australia, which will be announced this evening at the inaugural Electrical Retailing Awards (ERAs) in Sydney.

The ERAs, co-presented by Appliance Retailer magazine and GfK Australia, are the first local electrical industry awards to celebrate the performance of volume and value by retailers and manufacturers.

The winners of the state awards and finalists for the Best Retail Store are: Harvey Norman Auburn (New South Wales & ACT), Retravision – Geelong (Victoria), Clive Anthonys – Mermaid Waters (Queensland), Harvey Norman Darwin (Northern Territory), Harvey Norman Hobart (Tasmania) and Retravision Joondalup (Western Australia).

Suppliers from all major product categories including small appliances, whitegoods, audio visual, telecommunications and information technology judged the finalists for this category. All judging forms and winners for the ERAs have been audited by Ernst & Young.

Judges voting on the award recognised retailers for customer appeal, layout and design, educated and knowledgeable staff, local marketing initiatives, buying and operational efficiencies and increased sales.

Judges described the winner of this award as having excellent store layout that is visually appealing. One judge described this store as having “the best store layout” and another described it as “a great looking store”.

Its knowledgeable staff feature a high representation of Generation X and Generation Y and provide excellent customer service. The proactive proprietor is well known in the local area for generating strong customer appeal and store traffic through consistent local marketing initiatives.