NI’s Independent Retailer of the Year – on the High Street of the Year – reveals secret to success

Main Street secured the accolade in Retail NI’s High Street Hero Northern Ireland Awards for the second year in a row.

Fashion store The Winsome Lady also scooped the overall independent retailer award.

Owner Winnie Mellot credits the success to a number of factors, including the power of the internet.

“I have a very big following on social media and all those people were definitely voting,” she said.

“Not many people knew about us before the Covid pandemic.

“We had to do something to attract customers, so I began making videos and posting them on Facebook. Within a few months I could see a big jump in the number of users coming to the page.”

The business account has now racked up 40,000 followers. As the number of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ grew, so too did sales.

“I had to increase my staff from four to 12,” she explained.

“I started getting requests to ship to places as far away as New Zealand and Australia, which I had to decline.

“I have a website, but I don’t take orders through it because I don’t have the capacity to process large volumes.

“We are busy enough posting scores of parcels a day to all parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

“I feel bad saying it, but Covid was been great for our business and turned it into a huge success.”

Ms Mellot believes the loyalty of customers was reflected in the public vote which saw the town beat off competition from Newtownards and Ballynahinch.

“We get to know our customers and we build relationships with them,” she added.

“They are in England, Scotland, Wales and all over Ireland, and they voted for us in droves.”

As president of the Ballymoney Chamber of Commerce, she plans to start helping other local businesses seize the benefits of technology.

“A lot of high streets are suffering, but the ones who are suffering the most are those who have not adjusted,” she said.

“We have businesses here that have been going for 95 years, 75 years, and there will be lots of opportunities to showcase them.”

Online popularity is only one ingredient of the town’s success.

She said: “There is a community spirit here — we help and promote each other.

“We put in an awful lot of hard work in Ballymoney, because we were invisible… kind of like the middle child between Coleraine and Ballymena.

“We had to do it on our own, it was a lot of effort.”

Sweetness and Light Cakery and department store W & J Walker in the town were also recognised at the awards.

And the Real Health Store in Coleraine walked away with a gong too, meaning almost half of the 13 awards were won by traders in Causeway Coast and Glens Borough.

Mayor Ciarán McQuillan said: “It is testament to the fantastic offer the independent shops in the town provide for their customers, and also highlights their hard work.”

Ms Mellot added: “It all comes down to being friendly, perfecting communication skills and delivering a great service.

“We don’t have a lot of big name brands, it’s mostly independently owned shops. People love the service and the chat you just don’t get in bigger stores — they love coming to Ballymoney.”

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