What Makes a Winner?

I didn't envy the IWC team the day after the glittering Awards Night. As in any competition, for every delighted winner, there were inevitably disappointed entrants wondering why they didn't win. It wasn't easy making those decisions. It's an honour to be invited to judge the prestigious Industry Awards, but it's also a great responsibility – to get it right and to justify our decisions. We're acutely aware of how much these awards mean to entrants, large and small.

Five of us, with decades of experience across different sectors of the industry, spent several days analysing almost 100 entries before meeting to debate and decide the winners – Helen McGinn, Stephen Mosey, Neil Bruce, Julia Jenkins, and myself. Some categories, from small to large, resulted in unanimous decisions; others were perched on a knife-edge, with lengthy rallies of debate, coming down to a single-vote win.

Ultimately, what do these crucial decisions come down to? Quite simply, the quality and detail of the entry. We were looking for tangible proof of what each entrant has done to drive their business forward, tackle the current economic and social challenges thrown their way, and continue to engage their customer base effectively.

One winner told me they had spent a lot of time trying to understand how the criteria worked and what we were looking for: "We decided that we needed to focus on our personality, our experience and most importantly, on our achievements." That was exactly what we needed.

Put simply, we look for tangible evidence, backed up by fact-based criteria of the strategies implemented. As IWC Co-Chair Helen McGinn stated: "For me, the best entries demonstrated how their strategies deliver the best results for both their business and their customers and when it comes to this competition, size really isn't everything! Often it's the ones who do things differently that stand out for all the right reasons."

Helen is absolutely right; it's not always the goliaths of the industry that sweep all opposition out of their path to win. In no category was this more evident than the "Wine Club of the year" category, won by Hertfordshire-based independent Wee Vinoteca. As Steve Mosey commented: "they aimed to be The BEST - not the biggest, I loved that customer centric goal, and, the fact they had single figure turnover of members spoke volumes to me - if you offer people value and exceed expectations you will retain your customers- that is clearly what they are doing."

Judges are frequently asked what makes a stand-out entry, especially in categories with multiple entrants, such as small retailer, on-trade supplier and buying team. Nothing is more important than fact-based criteria and data. However it was frustrating to see the number of entries that avoided this, only providing the most top-line numbers. We have all signed NDAs; we need evidence to prove the success of an initiative or promotion - please trust us, we won't be giving away any trade secrets!

If an entrant states "We ran a promotion on Italian wines, which was highly successful", this doesn't help us measure the success. We need facts and quantifiable proof, rather than subjective claims in the entries; our decisions have to be objective and not opinion-based. It is important that we can qualify and quantify every decision we make.

Several of the best fact-and stats-fuelled entries were from some of the bigger corporate players, from agents to retailers, who, in the past, may have been reluctant to share data – but by doing so, they were able to demonstrate their credentials across diverse initiatives such as sustainability, employee development and supplier relationships, as well as premiumisation and sales growth by category.

Provide us with data, but also with personality, honesty and proof of innovation and adaptation. Time and again, we used words such as "passion","personality", "resilience" and "forward-thinking", in our comments. Kim Wilson, MD of North South Wines, summed it up: "We work hard to stand out in everything we do - to push boundaries, grow stronger and offer something different."

We appreciate that entries take time out of a busy business life to complete; it's clear from the entries which companies these awards really matter to. Pierre Mansour, Wine Director, Wine Society, summed it up: "The award entry is a labour of love, involving input from many teams. It's fantastic recognition of the passion and dedication poured into delivering at every level for our customers."

For many winners, the awards are a reward for the team - recognition of their dedication to deliver for the business. The awards are also vital for reinforcing customer trust. "Being named a winner is especially meaningful ,knowing our customers look out for the IWC winners' logo as a trusted seal of approval," commented Elizabeth Newman, managing director of Majestic.

What made the winners stand out? Looking back at the judges' overall comments, apart from performance, for the small retailers, regional and specialist categories, it was dynamic entries, with demonstration of focussed customer engagement, enthusiasm, commitment and the ability to evolve and keep things fresh, which raised them above the rest.

These criteria applied just as much to winners across all categories. The Wine Society, which took the top spots for Online Retailer and Sustainability retailer, demonstrated its core message clearly and was praised for customer service and commitment.

Hallgarten & Novum, winner of Large Agent and On-trade supplier categories, demonstrated a clear, forward-thinking strategy in a struggling on-trade environment, with quality of range, and customer engagement to the fore. North South Wines, winner of the Medium Agent category, backed its strategies with numbers while providing evidence of making a positive difference to the industry, colleagues and to the planet.

And what of retail giant Tesco, who swept the board with three major wins - Best Buying Team, Best Supermarket and Best Own-Label Range - against very tough competition? As one judge summarised: "The doubling of sales of their premium range, even in smaller stores, is quite staggering given the current trading environment – and they were able to demonstrate the achievement of that specific goal." The retailer was also praised for the calibre of its buying team: "The expertise is there and it's clear that wine really matters to the business at a level beyond just the category."

Finally, what do these awards mean to retailers and distributors? For Wilson, it's "like the Oscars of the wine industry-an award I've dreamed of winning for years- it's absolute validation of what the team is doing!"

For Wee Vinoteca owner Duncan Gammie, the award is "transformational". "Since we won, the business has exploded. Wine Club sign ups and social media traffic have increased tenfold; our award has helped us reach customers outside our local area – being able to tie such a prestigious award to my business has been incredible for the growth of the business."