The Newmarket business community gathered at the Cordis Hotel on Friday night to celebrate the annual Newmarket Business Awards. 380 people attended the ceremony, hosted by the Newmarket Business Association (NBA), with major sponsors Bayleys and humm.

The coveted ‘Retailer of the Year’ went to Kiwi fashion-house, Ruby, an accolade which Superette won in 2018. Superette did, however, take away the ‘Newmarket People’s Choice’ gong and ‘International Retailer of the Year’ saw reigning champion, Glassons, defend its title.

Spanish tapas restaurant, Tasca, was awarded ‘Best Restaurant of the Year’, with ‘Best use of Social Media’ going to Burger Burger for the second year in a row. The 2019 ‘Newmarket Supreme Winner Award’ went to Overland Footwear, which also won ‘Best Innovation of the Year’.

NBA’s CEO, Mark Knoff-Thomas says the Awards provide the opportunity to acknowledge what the Newmarket precinct has to offer and showcases the best of the best - with the bar raised higher every year.

“We love hosting the annual Newmarket Business Awards. With such a spectacular range of diverse, innovative and cutting-edge businesses, there is plenty for us to celebrate. This year, the number of entries increased by 20%, so there is ever-growing interest in participating!”

This year’s independent judging panel included business leaders Andy Hamilton (Icehouse), Anne Norman (James Pascoe Group), Anthony Hoy Fong (Chef), Angela Pile (Recognise & Reward), Michael Barnett (Auckland Chamber of Commerce), Michelle Vogt (Mint Consulting), Sarah Dunn (NZ Retail), Stewart Sherriff (2degrees), Wendy Thompson (Socialites), and Wynnis Armour (Armour Consulting). Sponsor judges included Rachel Dovey from Bayleys, and Jacqui Hourigan from FlexiGroup, as well as a panel from Rotary Newmarket. The guest speaker for the event was Dr Paul Wood.

The Newmarket Business Excellence Award Winners for 2019:   

• Best Café of the Year – sponsored by Newmarket Business Association: L’Atelier du Fromage
• Best Restaurant of the Year – sponsored by Rialto Centre: Tasca
• Best Night-Time Venue (new category) – sponsored by Newmarket Business Association: Rialto Cinemas
• Retailer of the Year – sponsored by Marley Loft: Ruby
• International Retailer of the Year – sponsored by Westfield Newmarket: Glassons
• Best Innovation of the Year – sponsored by Vector: Overland Footwear Group
• Employer of the Year – sponsored by ANZ: Mercury
• Best Customer Experience – sponsored by Recognise & Reward: Michael Holmes Premium Eyewear
• Best Small/ Medium Business of the Year – sponsored by 2degrees: Anti Money Laundering Solutions Limited (AML Solutions)
• Best Medium/ Large Business of the Year – sponsored by Multi-Media Systems: Haka Tourism Group
• Young Business Person of the Year – sponsored by Rotary Newmarket: Valentin Ozich – I Love Ugly
• Best Use of Social Media – sponsored by ellen&company: Burger Burger
• Most Sustainable Business of the Year – sponsored by Chow:Hill Architects Limited: Barkers
• Newmarket People’s Choice Award for 2019: Superette
• Newmarket Supreme Winner Award for 2019: Overland Footwear Group