THUNDER BAY – The 49th Annual Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year Awards Ceremony was presented on Tuesday, October 25 in Toronto, in front of a gala audience of over 500 leading grocers, suppliers, and distributors at Grocery Innovations Canada 2011, Canada’s premier grocery conference and tradeshow. The Quality Market at Campus Hill was awarded the BRONZE AWARD.
“We are incredibly honoured to win these awards in a competition which featured hundreds of fabulous stores across the nation. We believe this is the first time a store from Thunder Bay has ever won a medal in this contest, which has been going on for over 20 years,” shared Dan Stezenko from Quality Market.
Each year, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers’ (CFIG) Awards Program recognizes the success of outstanding independent retailers and offers insights into innovations that are changing and enhancing the way retailers compete. This year, CFIG proudly announced that Dan and David Stezenko of Quality Market, Campus Hill in Thunder Bay, ON were awarded the BRONZE AWARD for Top Independent Grocer of the Year – Small Surface Category.
“We couldn’t be more proud of Dan and David” said John F.T. Scott, President and CEO of CFIG. “Their hard work and commitment to their store over the past year has really shown. We are very pleased that they were recognized at GIC this year.”
The Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year is the most prestigious award CFIG can bestow. Each year Independent grocery stores from coast to coast in Canada compete for the coveted title in each of the specialty, large, medium and small surface categories.
Each of the competing stores is visited personally by a highly respected retail management expert, who evaluates competing stores based on retailing excellence and innovation, store team performance, customer service, space utilization, freshness and cleanliness. Awards are then presented to the best Small, Medium, and Large Surface category winners at the Gold, Silver and Bronze levels.