The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has today announced the category winners for the industry’s top honour – Australian Retailer of the Year.

Discount grocer Aldi, which has made rapid strides forward over the past year, claimed the food, drink and grocery category, while sandwich franchise Subway took out the restaurants, cafés and takeaway category. The two food industry representatives will vie for the national award with Country Road (clothing and footwear) and L’Occitane (specialty retailing).

“This year the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) invited retailers across the country to vote for the Australian Retailer of the Year across a range of categories,” ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman advised. “With the votes now tallied, Aldi, Country Road, Subway and L’Occitane have been awarded category titles by their industry peers and will go head-to-head to have the crown handed down from reigning Australian Retailer of the Year Supercheap Auto.”

“After over 12 months of reduced consumer demand and falling retail sales, the Australian Retailer of the Year judges will be looking for outstanding performances and displays of ingenuity, innovation and business nous during an extremely difficult trading period.”

The Australian Retailer of Year will be announced at the National Retail Forum in Melbourne on 11 August 2009.

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