The Mainstreet Trading Company in St. Boswells, one of four indie booksellers among this year's shortlist of 25 retailers, was named Britain's Best Small Shop of 2018 by the Independent Retailers Confederation, the Bookseller reported.
Expressing "total surprise" at the decision, owner and former Booksellers Association president Rosamund de la Hey said: "It's amazing and unexpected to win the Best Small Shops competition having been shortlisted alongside an incredible array of fantastic independents from so many different sectors. I'm particularly pleased to be recognized with three fellow booksellers, we're mutually supportive of each other--and it's great that overall, a bookshop is the winner. We've been celebrating our 10th birthday this year so winning the Best Small Shops competition truly is the cherry on the cake for us. We wouldn't have been able to win this award without our team and it's an equally important achievement for them."
IRC chairman Mark Walmsley commented: "In this year's Best Small Shops competition, we have been able to celebrate the diversity, choice and quality of specialist independent retailers around the country and the contribution that they make to their local communities. We hope that in the run-up to Christmas it helps shine a light on some of the gems of our high streets and town centers and encourage more people to explore the independents in their areas."