Liquorland Tikipunga was the highest-performing store in the Cultural Alignment section, the judges said. Most of its marks came from its commitment to implementing strong in-store policies that benefit the community. Its staff culture and business ethic is outstanding.
"We are an established store and understand our market very well," Mr Popata said, who has been managing the store for about seven years.
"We have strong store policies, store standards and excellent customer service.
"We continually train our staff to be the best they can be with two of us passing our Level 3 Red Seed training tailored for the liquor industry and other staff have passed Level 1 or higher.
"We also know our customers well and have old-fashioned store values, where you can come in for great advice and product knowledge to help with your purchase, have a yarn and then we will carry your purchase to the car with you.
"We love giving great customer experiences.
"We genuinely care for our Tikipunga community and do our best to carry out our host responsibility for our community," Mr Popata said.
The most challenging part of being in this business was the stigma that went with selling alcohol. He said Liquorland was fully aware of the consequences of irresponsible drinking.
"The challenge we face is customers not having enough knowledge on how to responsibly enjoy alcohol and ensure that in the face of the consumer we try to meet this need.
"We constantly challenge ourselves to find new ways to help educate New Zealanders to drink responsibly.
"Our Toast Magazine is a great example of this," Mr Popata said.
