Wholesaler celebrates wholesale success at tradeshow
THE Spar Scotland Tradeshow made its return once again in Aviemore for 2023 as wholesaler CJ Lang & Son celebrated the strengths of the Spar fascia.
Delegates from across the breadth of the convenience industry made their way once again to the Macdonald Aviemore Resort to gain some valuable insights from across the channel whether that be from some well-known brands or about the Spar symbol.
The day kicked off with a welcome from CJ Lang chief executive Colin McLean as well as with some business presentation from key suppliers and independent retailers in the trade.
The tradeshow itself opened from 10am, allowing delegates to explore the breadth of brands and suppliers out there, engage in conversations about how best to support their stores and enjoy some samples along with this.
The Spar Scotland Awards also made its triumphant return in the evening with a glittering event held in the resort’s Osprey Arena where the firm announced which stores would be picking up gongs.
Four categories for retailers were up for grabs during the evening including: the Independent Community Store Award; Company Owned Community Store award; the Independent Store of the Year award; and the Company Owned Store of the Year award.
Each recognised the strength of retailers operating stores under the Spar symbol with Spar Condorrant picking up Independent Community Store; Spar Portland Street Troon was awarded Company Owned Community Store, Pinkie Farm Convenience Store was named the Independent Store of the Year and Spar Crosshouse was named the Company Owned Store of the year.
And the ceremony was brought to an end with a three course dinner from the Aviemore resort as well as entertainment from Scottish rock band Franco playing late into the night.
But before the evening came to a close, CJ Lang made sure that those in attendance already had a date in their diaries to hold on to for next year as the firm revealed the Spar Scotland Tradeshow 2024 would make its return on 26 September 2024.
McLean said: “This event has been sold out for several months with over 850 delegates in attendance including our suppliers, independent retailers, store managers and central teams.
“As a family owned, truly Scottish business we’ve been supporting our customers for a very long time. And we believe we are uniquely placed in terms of understanding the Scottish convenience marketplace.”
