CELEBRATING BUSINESS IN BRADFORD ON AVON
BoA Business Awards celebrate Bradford on Avon ’ s best
The winners of Bradford on Avon ’ s second business awards have been revealed .
On Thursday October 13 , the town ’ s business community came together to celebrate the BoA Business Awards at St Margaret ’ s Hall .
The 2017 awards follow the success of the inaugural BoA Business Awards in 2016 , designed to celebrate the diversity of the town and the surrounding villages business landscape .
2017 saw 113 nominees in 16 categories and over 4,500 votes were cast , nearly double the figure of the 2016 awards .
Andrew Eberlin , chair of BoA Business and award organiser said : “ We ’ re thrilled the town is getting behind our award scheme and is supporting the variety of predominantly independent businesses in Bradford on Avon . Competition this year was fierce ; in several categories businesses won by just a few votes !”
The award ceremony and dinner was a sell-out with
120 tickets sold . Jackie Allan , owner of Piha , a shop in the town and also a BoA Business Award organiser said : “ In future years , we might have to look at another venue the awards have been such a success . It was fantastic to see St Margaret ’ s Hall full of the town ’ s movers and shakers and those that often work tirelessly behind the scenes without getting noticed .”
The Professional Services award was presented by the evenings VIP guest Michelle Donelan MP .
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For more info : www . boabusiness . co . uk
James Eades from Systemagic presenting the Dandy Lion with their award
The winners in each category were best : Creative Industries : Groovy Moovers Shop : Doghouse Venue Hire : Cumberwell Park Start-up : Doghouse Cafe : The Weaving Shed IT : Systemagic Customer Service : Doghouse Health , well-being & education : Cumberwell Park Professional Services : Bath & West Fire & Safety Pub : The Dandy Lion Food & Drink Producer : Kettlesmith Brewing Accommodation : Widbrook Grange Restaurant : The Weaving Shed Travel : Travel Options 4 U Estate Agent : Jeremy Jenkins Wedding Service : Widbrook Grange
HERE WE MEET JUST A FEW OF THE WINNERS ...
THE DOGHOUSE
New pet shop the Doghouse won in three categories on the night , best shop , best start-up and best customer service . Having only opened in August 2017 , people are going barking mad for their unique offering . We met owner Ruth Warren to find out more .
What did you do before the Doghouse ?
I ran a much smaller pet shop called Fetch in the Shambles , Bradford on Avon . I ’ d had the shop for nine years . It was small and perfectly formed and gave me a real understanding of my customers , a thorough grounding in the reality of retail and gave me a chance to really get to know my trade .
What made you come up with the Doghouse concept ? We outgrew our last premises within a few years to be honest , but life got in the way of us really looking seriously for a new premises and Fetch was ticking over nicely as it was , so I have to admit I coasted for a few years and just enjoyed it for what it was , a lovely ‘ lifestyle ’ business which was really fun to run . I eventually got bored and that ’ s when I really started to put together the idea of this whole new concept . Retail has changed so dramatically in the ten years I have been trading and as retailers we have to respond to those changes and evolve or fade away . There isn ’ t a single thing in my shop that you can ’ t buy on the internet , and probably cheaper too , but you cannot buy the experience you get coming into Doghouse , and that ’ s what make this such an exciting prospect . High street retail has to be something different if it is to survive in this new ecommmerce driven environment , so what I did was to look at ways in which I could increase the offering and make the business an attractive destination . Adding the dog grooming was a no-brainer , with the explosion in popularity of the poodle cross breeds , the demand for grooming has escalated hugely with local groomers closing books to new clients . Although I knew nothing about grooming , I knew that the service element would be attractive and ensure a constant footfall of potential customers throughout the year . The café element of the business started as a fun idea to keep customers in the shop browsing our products while they waited for their dog to be groomed , it also gave us a way to be creative with our offering in a truly unique way , a café designed for dog owners serving cakes , ice cream and even puppaccino ’ s for dogs too ! We don ’ t really believe in humanising our dogs , but we do believe in having fun and we have so much fun with this side of the business . It is the combination of these three distinct business elements which makes us unique and has drawn customers to visit the town to come to see us .
Do you cater for just dogs ? Although the shop is heavily orientated towards dogs we carry a wide range of foods and accessories for cats and all cat owners will tell you that cats are always in charge in the Doghouse !
Do people travel far to pamper their pooches at the Doghouse ? We have regular visitors from a wide local area , including Bristol and Cheltenham , but also from as far as Oxford and London . We think this is largely because of the social media we do and the events we have organised . The first event , Sausage Dog Sunday , was a huge success . We managed to persuade a lovely coat company to come and launch their new range for dachshunds from the shop , we had around sixty dachshunds of all shapes and sizes come for fittings !
Is being part of the Bradford on Avon business community important to you ?
The support and information we share with our neighbouring businesses is a vital part of developing Bradford on Avon , their success is our success . We all need to support one another to survive , whether that ’ s through a cup of tea and a metaphorical hand-hold when we face new challenges , or to help one another with business decisions , such as where to find the best deal on credit card processing .
How does it feel to have won the BoA Business Awards in three categories ?
It ’ s been so absolutely humbling to see the hard work and commitment of my brilliant team recognised in such a public way . We just love what we have created and it was so , so hard getting here , that to have such a resounding endorsement is just utterly amazing .
@ DOGHOUSE _ BoA
22 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017