A Heysham shopkeeper has won national recognition for the second year in a row.

James Brown, proprietor of Beech Stores, Nisa Local Heysham, has again made it to the industry-recognised Top 100 list of independent retailers in the UK and Ireland.

The Top 100 represents stores that are delivering brilliant standards, offering a fantastic service and creating memorable experiences for their shoppers, all while juggling the many challenges faced by the convenience retail sector.

The award comes following rigorous, independent assessment involving a mystery shop to assess the store and the customer experience, a digital review to analyse online presence and intense video interviews.

James Brown with his daughter at Beech Stores.

placeholder image — James Brown with his daughter at Beech Stores.

James, whose family has run the store for more than 20 years, said: “Huge thank you to all of my team for helping us to achieve this.

“We’ve worked really hard over the past few years to create a store that both us and our shoppers can be proud of.

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"We’re part of the community and as well as offering our customers a great range of products, we want to make sure they get the best customer service and wherever possible we can give them just what they are looking for.”

The store underwent a full refurbishment in the summer of 2019 and since then has launched a home delivery service which promises shoppers a 30-minute delivery service.

It also hosts a range of community activities including Halloween and Christmas events for local children.

The Top 100 list is run by the Better Retailing Independent Achievers Academy. Go to www.betterretailing.com/top-100