PLB announced as sponsors of the prestigious IWSC Retailer of the Year Award

IWSC news

Tue 13 Sep 2011

The International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) today announced that PLB will be the Sponsor of the highly respected Retailer of the Year award for 2011 and 2012.
 
The award, considered to be one of the most coveted, is presented at the prestigious awards Banquet at the Guildhall in London on 16th November 2011. Winners over the past few years include Waitrose (2010), Sainsbury (2009) and Tesco (2008).
 
The judging of the award is based on the best performing retailer of wine and spirit entries in the 2011 Competition, combined with innovation in retailing wines and spirits. New criteria for the 2011 award will also include Social Responsibility initiatives and consumer engagement via Social Media and on-line activities.
 
Peter Darbyshire, Managing Director at PLB, comments: “We are delighted to support an award that acknowledges the level of commitment and the effort made by our retailer customers to provide their own customers with the best possible experience in-store and online. It also promotes quality and encourages diversity and a real point of difference across their ranges, set against a challenging and competitive market place.”
 
The judging of the award will see a panel including Jane Parkinson (The Wine Gang), Patrick Schmitt (the drinks business), Georgina Wroe (BBC Presenter) along with a representative from both PLB and the IWSC. The panel will be independently chaired and also introduce a new element to the voting - whereby consumers will be asked to tell us their preferred wine retailer via an online survey.
 
IWSC Marketing Manager, David Kelly comments: “Using social media to engage the consumer directly and gain feedback into their wine buying preferences is a new element of the award. It highlights the fact that the IWSC is constantly evolving to accommodate new social trends.
 
For more information, please contact marketing@iwscgroup.com
 
 
PLB began importing wines 26 years ago and has grown to become one of the UK’s largest suppliers to the multiple trade, as well as servicing the independent wine specialist and on–trade through PLB’s rapidly expanding On-trade & Speciality Retail Division. The company also distributes to customers in key international markets. With a wine, beer and spirit producer base that covers Europe, the Americas, Australasia and South Africa, PLB can truly claim to be at the forefront of the UK drinks trade.http://www.plb.co.uk/