The winners of the Original Richmond, Richmond Business and Tourism Association Loyalty Card promotion, which the Association ran throughout October, have been drawn.
First prize of £50 was won by Bob Woodings, second prize of £40 went to Mrs. Young and the £30 third prize was awarded to Jacqui Walker. The three lucky winners received vouchers to spend in Association members’ businesses. Other prizes went to Gary Cox who has won ten free swims at Richmond Swimming Pool and Charlotte Garth who won 10 free swims for an under-18 at the pool.
First-prize winner, Bob Woodings, said, “This was a very good way of encouraging people to use local shops. I very much want to see the shops in Richmond prosper and I am keen on drawing more people into Richmond and towns like Richmond that have a historic core. Towns with such history have the ability to attract people and Richmond is a really different place to shop.”
Winner, Charlotte Garth, added, “The promotion was a wonderful way to make me shop more in Richmond. There is a really nice selection of personally run shops. Castle Hill Bookshop is very useful, and they go out of their way to help. The Georgian Theatre is a real asset to the town; I very much enjoy going there. We’re very lucky here in Richmond to have such a variety of small businesses.”
Business owners were happy too! Dennis Graves, who runs Mocha Chocolate Shop with his wife Elizabeth said, “This was an excellent promotion that was well used by local people. The Loyalty Card encouraged people to think about shopping in Richmond and the shopping offer in the town. People came in to buy because they knew we were part of the promotion. This worked really well as it encouraged businesses to work together to promote each other and for the good of Richmond.”
The Association has grown considerably since February and now has over 70 members with enquiries coming in regularly through the Association’s website – www.originalrichmond.co.uk Chairman of the Association, Marcia McLuckie, puts a lot of this down to the shared ethos of working together for the common good and creating new opportunities to make Richmond an even better place to run a business. “We shall definitely be running the Loyalty Card Promotion again next year. This was the first year. We anticipate that it will grow in popularity each year that it is run. There is a lot of enthusiasm from the Association members for working together, and this is just one thing we are doing as an organisation. As more businesses join the Association it is creating a great buzz that is of real benefit to the town. Richmond has some excellent shops and restaurants – we are really very fortunate.”
To find out more about membership of the Association go to the website www.originalrichmond.co.uk or give Marcia a call on 01748 825525.
Photos Copyright Guy Carpenter