Cults shop owners who always goes the extra mile for customers have been crowned champions in a nation-wide retail competition.
Chris and Louise Cobb’s Keystore on Kirk Brae was nominated by customers who wanted to acknowledge the care and effort they put into supporting their local community.
Mr Cobb, 54 – who lives in Dyce – took over the store 17 years ago.
He told The Press and Journal: “We were nominated by a few customers, which is a great feeling.”
The couple accepted the award for ‘regional local retail champion’ at a glittering ceremony in London earlier this month, organised by National Lottery operators Allwyn.
From almost 1,000 stores nominated, judges selected two national and 16 regional winners.
Cults Keystore honoured in national awards
The store was awarded a prize of £5,000 cash, some of which – in true Cobb style – has been donated to a good cause.
“In winning this award, we’ve been able to donate £1,000 to the Rotary Club. They’ve managed to make up Christmas boxes for Ukraine, Romania, and people less fortunate in the UK,” Mr Cobb said.
He added: “We try our best to help out food banks and PTAs, as well as being lucky enough to secure some funding for local football clubs.
“Keystore has a community fund that we always make use of whenever it’s available. It’s about £250 and the next one we’re looking to arrange is a swing for disabled people at Duthie Park.
“We have a collection for the foodbank at Mannofield Church in the store and we donate any surplus foods we have. We accept cash donations too which we use to buy food at stock price for the food bank.”
With other shops in the Cults area, Mr Cobb said they feel they have to go the extra mile.
“We have so much competition with bigger stores, I feel like our role in the community helps set us apart,” he said.
“A lot of our loyal customers are from an older generation. It’s really important for me and my staff that we try and brighten up their day. We don’t have self-service tills, we want to talk to everyone.
“We also try and look out for them too. Say a regular customer who lives just up the road hasn’t been in for their paper, we would deliver it to them to make sure they’re alright.
“Everyone wants to be a ‘community store’, but I don’t think all shops put that in practice like we do.”
Cults Keystore is making a difference in the community
Regular shopper Ellen Smith helps out at the Mannofield Church food bank and was one of the people who nominated Mr Cobb and the store for the award.
She said: “He does a lot for the community. During the pandemic, he would always make sure that older people were OK and got their messages to them.
“He wants to help, and whenever he can he gives back to worthy causes in the area. He never wants anything in return, so I was delighted he won the award.”
London trip for Cults Keystore couple
To claim their prize, a special trip was organised for Mr and Mrs Cobb, which included a memorable experience at Wembley Arena for the National Lottery’s Big Bash.Â
Mr Cobb explained: “We were invited to the Hilton in London to receive the award. The trophy we received was made out of recycled scratch cards, which I thought was a nice touch.
“We were also invited along to the VIP section at the Big Bash later that evening – it was filmed for New Year’s Eve. There were artists like KSI, Ella Henderson, and the cast of Mamma Mia, so it was a brilliant night.”
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