Martin’s wins Gold Star competition
Martin’s Off-Licence in Fairview, Dublin, was the winner of the recent display competition based on the winning wines of the NOffLA’s Gold Star Awards. A delighted Declan Martin commented: “When I heard about the competition it was a no brainer for me. I already had all the wines in stock and they all hit different price points, attracting all budgets and giving my customers a great choice from red, white, rose, sparkling and champagne.”
NOffLA members were offered the opportunity to win €1,000 in cash in a display competition featuring the 2009 Gold Star Awards. Participating outlets were asked to submit five images of their Gold Star Award display using the GSA point of sale materials. The top three display entries were selected from these entries, prompting a personal visit to the outlets for final adjudication when the overall winner was chosen.
Declan Martin has identified the Gold Star Awards as a useful marketing device, even in challenging economic times. “Although people are trading down during these struggling times, customers have confidence in the wines of higher value, knowing that the wines have won awards, encouraging people to trade up. These I find are highlighted very clearly on the POS we use and stand out on the shelves. The booklet also is a great tool, as it gives the customer descriptions to each of the wines, and they can take it home with them and have a browse at their own leisure. I will continue to sell these wines throughout the year and use the POS material supplied, and both me and my customers are looking forward to the winners of 2010.”
Therese Foley, from another participating outlet, Foleys in Sligo, also welcomed the opportunity provided by the competition. “I felt it made our customers aware that we stocked quality wines. It motivated staff to promote quality wines. We felt it was an opportunity to focus entirely on wines in our window display as we are a full off-licence. The prize was also a motivator.”
Siobhan Gibney, from multiple-winning off-licence of the year, Gibneys of Malahide, was very enthusiastic about taking advantage of Gold Star Awards in this way. “The Gold Star Wines speak for themselves in terms of merit – they have been graded fairly through a series of blind tastings in each of their respective categories. In a quality shop like ours I feel that they are well deserved of a place on our shelves. The promotion itself in store is beneficial in that it makes customers more aware of the Gold Star wines and we found sales increased when we grouped them all together with the posters and other POS.”
