Inclusive Practices Earn Southport's SPAR Retailer Prestigious Industry Recognition

SPAR retailer Bhav Parekh has won a prestigious Retail Industry Award for his work in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Bhav, who owns the SPAR store in Ovington Drive, Southport, beat off strong competition to win the award for the work he has done at the store since acquiring it in 2020.

Bhav has improved the accessibility to his store for customers, worked hard to close the gender pay gap for his employees, and ensured his diverse workforce enjoy an equal and inclusive working environment.

During the stringent judging process that is part of the Retail Industry Awards, one of the panel commented: “This is an excellent example of diversity and equal treatment of staff. They haven’t stood still and are looking to develop further.”

Since taking over ownership of the SPAR, Bhav retained around 80% of the existing employees at the store and has grown the initial team by 30% in the years that have followed.

The store is set for further development with a new Food To Go area that is being introduced and this will expand the team again.

Bhav Parekh said: “Winning the award was a great honour. We were content with being shortlisted after an unprecedented number of entries for this new award, but to go on and win it was just superb.

“My passion for EDI comes from my own life experiences in a previous career, and when I took over my SPAR store in Southport, I was keen to share my principles and expectations at the outset which were warmly received by the team.

“One of the first tasks was to address the levels of pay across the team, and in particular the gender pay gap. This has been achieved after a comprehensive re-working of the team’s job titles and responsibilities.

“As an employer, I have also gone the extra mile and taken on board the various religious holidays that staff would like to have off over and above the nationally recognised holidays.

“I have also not been phased by taking on staff who have weaknesses but whose strengths outweigh them as you can always support them to learn and grow.

“The team has evolved over time, and we all embrace EDI, with members having different religions, nationalities, genders, and sexual orientations.

“It’s an exciting time for the team too with a new Food To Go venture and growth of the number of people we employ. This too will be guided by my EDI principles as a SPAR retailer, and I believe it is crucial that the team I have are reflective of society and the communities that we serve.”

Bhav is a multi-site SPAR retailer with convenience stores in Preston and Bolton as well as Southport, and his stores are serviced by James Hall & Co. Ltd, SPAR UK’s primary wholesaler and distributor for Northern England.

Bhav is also a member of SPAR’s Northern Guild committee, and its Chairman, and Sales Director at James Hall & Co. Ltd, Peter Dodding, is delighted with Bhav’s success.

Peter said: “I’m ecstatic for Bhav who has put an enormous amount of time and resource into developing his Southport store and is richly deserving of this award.

“The store has been improved massively under Bhav’s stewardship, and his input to the Northern Guild is greatly valued. The in-store team at Southport are welcoming to customers and are reflective of the area where they live and work.

“SPAR’s brand pillars of nurturing our neighbourhoods and passionate about local are epitomised by Bhav and his team at Southport, and I would like to congratulate them again for achieving this accolade.”

James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.

For more information about James Hall & Co. Ltd, please visit www.jameshall.co.uk.