Celebrating the 20th year of this prestigious awards scheme, Achievers 2023 was home to three big award wins for leading Scottish wholesaler and SPAR convenience retailer, CJ Lang & Son Ltd.
Taking place at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh on 23 February, 900 guests celebrated a vast number of achievements in the Scottish wholesale industry.
Organised by the Scottish Wholesale Association, the 2023 Achievers Awards highlighted and rewarded best practice, outstanding performance and innovation across all areas of the wholesale trade in Scotland.
The awards also shine a spotlight on the dedicated, passionate people who keep the wheels of the industry moving, as well as the suppliers and manufacturers that keep wholesalers stocked up.
Celebrating three wins on the night were CJ Lang & Son Ltd. On winning the awards judges said:
Best Delivered Operation – Retail
“CJ Lang & Son Ltd achieves fantastic customer service and has highly efficient operational standards and tremendous commercial and customer focus. Its charity initiatives, community involvement and sourcing of local products were other highlights. CJ Lang & Son Ltd stood out because of two elements – firstly, offering suppliers free access to its SalesTrack data, and secondly, making its back-haul service a key part of its strategy.”
Best Marketing Initiative
“The ‘Future Stars’ campaign has put SPAR Scotland at the heart of the community. Through its partnership with the Scottish FA, CJ Lang is supporting women’s and girls’ football, from grassroots to the national team. As part of its sponsorship, a ‘Future Stars’ football tournament involved over 350 girls. The campaign not only had a positive impact on women’s and girls’ football but also increased awareness of the SPAR brand in Scotland.”
Best Symbol Group
“A tightly contested category with plenty of examples of excellence, but CJ Lang & Son Ltd clinched the title because of its dedication to supply chain efficiency and deliveries on time, as well as promotional compliance. This wholesaler also scored highly on driving footfall and increasing basket spend instore.”
On the award achievements, Colin Mc Lean, CEO of CJ Lang & Son Ltd, said: “The industry has been working tirelessly to keep essential food and drink products on shelves of convenience stores the length and breadth of Scotland. In our own business from our depot in Dundee, a brilliant and talented team of individuals have focussed on delivering excellent customer service, a class-leading logistics operation, customer-focussed marketing campaigns and industry leading sales initiatives. We are thrilled to have won Best Delivered Operation (Retail), Best Marketing Initiative and Best Symbol Group.”
