Retail Excellence has announced the five finalists for the AIB Merchant Services Retail Excellence Friendliest Place in Ireland Awards

Ennis, Carrick-on-Shannon, Limerick, Slane & Waterford will all be vying for the top spot come November when the winner will be announced at a sell-out black tie event in Killarney.

Retail Excellence, the largest retail representative body in Ireland, run these prestigious awards to drive standards and celebrate excellence in retail operations and town centres throughout the country.  Last year Ennis won the prestigious title at the Retail Excellence Awards which was attended by more than 700 Irish retail industry executives. The awards are the biggest and best supported event in the Irish retail industry calendar.

Commenting on the announcement Lorraine Higgins Chief Executive of Retail Excellence said “Ireland is renowned the world over for its warm welcome and hospitality to all. Nothing conveys this more effectively than our retailers operating throughout every village, town and city in the country.   This is exactly why it is important to mark the significant contribution being made by the industry and city and county councils in driving standards and keeping our town centres vibrant. We are delighted with the quality of entries we received this year for Ireland’s Friendliest Place Award and the standard set was second to none. It is always difficult to choose the finalists but the five towns selected are standard bearers in driving customer excellence, hospitality and pride in their town. The five finalists can be justly proud of this achievement and I look forward to the announcement of the overall winner in November” concluded Ms. Higgins.

We here at Waterford In Your Pocket area delighted for the nomination that Waterford has gotten and it goes to show the hard work being carried out by the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, Waterford Business Group, Waterford Council and all the stake holders involved.  Working together can make a difference.  All we have to do now is keep on shopping local and supporting the retails not only of Waterford city but all the retailers in Waterford.