‘Competition standards for the Sheffield City Centre Retail Awards are extremely high’

With just days to go until the awards ceremony, I met with Amanda Phillips, Centre Manager of The Moor, Diane Jarvis, the Manager of Sheffield BID, and Andrew Davison, Project Director for Heart of the City II, Queensberry, at the Site Gallery cafe.

We discussed how each of them had enjoyed being a part of the process so far, and were looking forward to celebrating the achievements of all the nominees.

Amanda Phillips said: “This is the inaugural Sheffield City Centre Retail Awards and I am delighted with the positive response from the retail community and from the public.

“It is good to see our initial ambition for this awards realised. This is an opportunity for the city to publicly recognise and support the hard work our retailers and their teams do to keep our retail offer as good as it can be.

“We have had a real range of entries that reflects the variety we have here - from high street chains to independents. I have really enjoyed working alongside the partners and the city during this awards process, and have been delighted to learn more about the independent shops that may have previously gone under the radar.

“I also look forward to working with the team in future months to keep our city buzzing and of course on next years awards. Good luck to all the shortlisted entries.”

Diane Jarvis said: “Sheffield BID is extremely proud to be sponsoring the Sheffield City Centre Retail Awards. It’s been an incredibly rewarding exercise and allowed me to find out even more about the great people behind our shops and cafes.

“Working on behalf of local businesses, the BID supports projects that invest in and promote our city centre. These awards are a great way to showcase the quality and diverse retail offer we boast in Sheffield and helps raise the profile of truly deserving venders.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to the awards evening on 10 November – it’s going to be a great night.”

Andrew Davison said: “We always seek to ingrain ourselves in the local communities in which we work, engaging and collaborating with regional organisations and local businesses to understand what could make a positive difference to a town or city’s economic future.

“This is what first attracted us to the Sheffield City Centre Retail Awards - through our work on Heart of The City II we are looking to attract local independent retailers and leisure names to sit alongside the national chains we have already signed, so this was a great opportunity to meet the people behind some of these brands.

“We have been incredibly impressed with the great pool of talent in the region and the competition standards are extremely high. We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone luck and we look forward to celebrating with you at the ceremony.”

The awards ceremony will be be held on Sunday, November 10. Guests will enjoy a drinks reception at the Winter Gardens along with three course deluxe meal with wine and entertainment from local band Montuno, as well the awards themselves at Mercure St Paul’s Hotel. The awards are being presented by JoJo.