ACS is delighted to announce Julie Kaur Duhra as the first winner of the Raj Aggarwal Award, a new trophy celebrating exceptional community retailing.

Julie was announced as the winner after a panel on exceptional community retailing at ACS’ Heart of the Community conference. Julie runs a convenience store just north of Telford in Shropshire with her husband Joey. Julie has played a vital role in her local area, providing home deliveries to customers, leading local fundraising efforts and supporting other retailers.

Retail Minister Paul Scully, who presented the trophy, said:“These awards are a great opportunity to highlight how local retailers have been working tirelessly to support their communities, especially during the pandemic. Julie has been lighting up Hadley and beyond with her charity work, home deliveries and more. I’d like to congratulate her on such a well-deserved win of the first-ever Raj Aggarwal Award, and I thank all this year’s finalists, and retailers across the country, for their vitally important work.”

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Throughout the pandemic, Julie has gone above and beyond to support her customers and fellow retailers, Julie has made the local community feel like her family and friends. This is a well-deserved award and we would like to congratulate Julie for the outstanding contribution that her store has made to the local community.”

ACS would also like to congratulate this year’s finalists: Nico Ali from Tasa Shops in Jarrow, and Sophie Williams from Broadway Convenience Store in Edinburgh.

The entries were judged by: Sunita Aggarwal, Raj’s wife and owner of Spar Wigston; Jonathan James – Managing Director – James Convenience Retail; Avtar Sidhu – Owner – Budgens Kenilworth; and James Lowman – Chief Executive – ACS.