Bradford business wins five prestigious Garden Centre Association awards
The team at Tong Garden Centre are celebrating after winning five awards at the North East and North West regional Garden Centre Association (GCA) awards.
Tong collected awards in five out of nine categories for the North East region. It won Garden Centre of the Year in Destination Garden Centre Category, was awarded the Dick Allen award for the Most Improved Centre and the ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant. The Tong Lane centre also won The Gima Award for Best Garden Products retailer 2017 and the Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer.
Tong's Commercial Manager, Sharon McNair picked up the awards at the presentation evening at Klondyke Strikes Wilmslow Garden Centre last week: "We were over the moon to win! The fact that we were only awarded membership of the GCA in May 2016, just one year after the centre was acquired by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson, and have gone on to win five awards is a real credit to our fabulous team - they thoroughly deserve it for all of their hard work."
The GCA is an elite group of 200 garden centres that champions professionalism and membership is only awarded to businesses that pass a stringent audit covering all aspects of garden centre retailing excellence. The results of the annual audit form the basis for the awards. Tong will now go forward to the national awards taking place in January at the annual GCA conference.
GCA inspector Roger Crookes commented: "Our inspection is incredibly detailed so success at this level in our industry is testament to the extremely high retail standards that the team at Tong have strived to achieve. I was extremely impressed with the successful combination of garden retail and leisure to create an outstanding family destination. I will be watching Tong Garden Centre closely as they continue on their exciting journey."
Established in 1966, the GCA believes in sharing information and experiences at all levels, from senior management to the shop floor. Every year, its members must undergo a comprehensive annual inspection to ensure they continue to meet the stringent criteria set out by the association and therefore maintain membership.
Tong Garden Centre is one of Yorkshire's biggest garden centres with 110,000 square feet of retail space and parking for up to 750 cars.
Ends
Photo: Back Row - James Tolson, Helen Crossland, Asif Khan, Ann Smith The team at Tong celebrate winning 5 awards
Front Row - Julie Morris, Dennis Keen
For more information or to arrange an interview with Sharon McNair or a spokesman from Tong Garden Centre, please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on;
Direct line: 01430 871360
Mobile: 07971 961574
E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk
Web:www.three60marketing.co.uk
Notes to editors
For more information about Tong Garden Centre, please visithttp://www.tonggardencentre.co.uk
For more information about the GCA North East and North West awards,please click here