City News

The King of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley -or at least his look-alike - joined Birmingham’s Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Chauhdry Abdul Rashid and radio stalwart Ed Doolan to honor the work of the city’s market traders at a glitzy awards ceremony.
 
Hundreds of shoppers looked on as seven Bull Ring Markets traders were recognised for their hard work and commitment at the prestigious Market Trader Awards 2009 in the city’s Edgbaston Street.
 
Flower stall owner Cary Sutton scooped Best Outdoor Market Trader award, Dawn and Paul Larkin, of Bull Ring Pet Stores won Best Trader in the Rag Market; Pete Leslie of Posh Bedding won Best Newcomer and Greg Pearce, of Pearce’s Shellfish, won both Best Indoor Trader prize and the Best Presented Stall prize.
 
Conway Pile, of C.P Vickerstaffs won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of dedication to the Markets while Ajaz Beg, of Bull Ring Phone Centre won Trader of the Year Award as voted for by Markets shoppers.
 
Cary Sutton said he was delighted with his accolade: “I’m very privileged to have won, it’s a great honour. It’s really nice to feel appreciated and to feel like you’re doing a good job. There are some quite long hours involved but it’s what I’ve done all my life.”
 
The judging for the awards was carried out by a panel of Birmingham retail experts: Mark Chamberlain, Principal Officer of Retail Markets and Street Trading; Jenny Inglis, City Centre Director; Kurt Jacobs, Head of Public Relations at Marketing Birmingham plus Richard Scharenguivel, Deputy General Manager of the Bullring.

Mark Chamberlain said the Market Trader Awards were the perfect way to recognise the hard work of the traders who turn out to work on the Markets from the crack of dawn, come rain or shine.
 
“The Markets are more than 800 years old and still continue to thrive,” he said. “It welcomes more than six million customers each year, was crowned the country’s Best Outdoor Market, and has also bagged the prestigious Charter Mark award, the Government's national standard for customer service excellence.”
 
The event was sponsored by Retail Birmingham, which works to provide an even more attractive and exciting shopping experience n the city.
 
Retail Birmingham Business Manager Nigel Godfrey said: “The Markets play an integral role in Birmingham’s retail industry. It’s a pleasure to award traders who work so hard for the city.”
 
The Bull Ring Markets opening hours are: Indoor Market, Monday to Saturday, 9am – 5.30pm; Open Market, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9am – 5pm and the Rag Market, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9am – 5pm.

The Award Winners