West Kent Business Excellence Awards handed out
The winners of the inaugural West Kent Business Excellence Awards have been announced.
The Courier Media Group awards, held in association with the West Kent Chamber of Commerce, were held last night at The Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells.
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Business
The packed event - which was attended by business people and professionals from throughout West Kent as well as local dignitaries – began with a champagne reception and three-course meal, before the glittering awards ceremony.
Winners on the night included Get Cruising for Excellence in Marketing, Hoopers for Best Retailer, Simon Hume-Kendall of Kent Attractions for Entrepreneur of the Year, and Taywell Farm Shop for Best New Business.
The overall winner of West Kent Business of the Year was Sevenoaks-based Kit for Kids.
Established in 1993 by founding directors Jan van de Velde and Graham Campbell, Kit for Kids began by selling the Snoozemat sleep mat for children into schools and nurseries. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, building up three divisions, Education, Baby and Outdoor.
Considerable growth has been seen over the past two years promoting a move to new premises, employing key staff to enable the creation and development of strategic divisions, building a new warehouse, as well as the yearly development of over 100 new products.
Organiser of the awards and the evening's host, Alan Pocock, said he was delighted with how the event had gone: "In the midst of so much doom and gloom, it was wonderful to celebrate business in West Kent and shout about their achievements. It was a great night – many congratulations to all the winners."
See next week's Kent and Sussex Courier and Sevenoaks Chronicle for full details.
2 Comments
by Jo Moffatt, Woodreed, Tunbridge Wells
Tuesday, October 28 2008, 4:28PM
“Wow ¿ what a night! It¿s really great to be recognised and rewarded for something that¿s been at the heart of our business for so long. Our customer care and service are key values that our clients appreciate ¿ it¿s why many of them have been with us for years. I¿m sure they¿ll be glad to know they¿re officially getting the best in Kent!
We really enjoyed the evening and meeting other local businesses that have all made a huge effort to beat the current financial doom and gloom through entrepreneurial skill and sheer hard work. Thanks to all the sponsors and let¿s hope it is the first event of many that will help promote the huge pool of talent that can be found here in West Kent.”
by Alastair Jessel, Taywell Farm Shop
Monday, October 27 2008, 4:50PM
“It was a great night out and fantastic to meet so many entrepreneurs who have risked their money and time to do something very different. It shows that even in the darkest moments, there are some businesses that will continue to shine out amongst the rest.
Thank you to The Courier for a great nights entertainment and for supporting small businesses such as ourselves who rely on this sort of publicity because they do not have the budget to advertise to any great extent.
We believe we have a lot to offer the community but we struggle to compete against the massive budgets of the supermarkets and The Courier is excellent at nurturing the SMEs in the County.”