The Convenience Awards recognise and reward the best people, retailers, companies, and initiatives across the UK convenience retail industry. As the only awards ceremony dedicated to the convenience store community, this is the industry event.
The 2024 awards were relocated from London for the first time, taking place at Victoria Warehouse on 21st March.
The client: William Reed
The event space: The Cotton Sheds
The concept
A dramatic and impressive celebration saw The Cotton Sheds transformed into a spectacle of glitz and glamour. The black-tie event commenced with a drinks reception, followed by a three-course dinner and awards ceremony. Post awards, the dance floor opened up for the after party, where sponsors provided reems of entertainment to take guests through the night.
The brief
The brief for the 2024 awards was to create a standout event for 450 guests and to recognise those leading the way in the industry. Victoria Warehouse helped to fulfil the event brief by helping with all AV elements, running the sponsored bar, and providing all catering.
Our chef teams worked with the client to develop a bespoke menu to include ham hock terrine and spiced roasted cauliflower starters, slow braised beef featherblade (the chef accommodated the request to substitute mash for mustard mash) and chickpea mains, and baked vanilla cheesecake to finish.
The experience
Guests arrived at 7pm and walked down a red carpet, which took them past a sponsor wall for photographs. A trayed drinks reception took place, allowing guests to network with their industry and greet old friends. After this, the main awards room was unveiled, where tables waited with an array of products from sponsors.
Edith Bowman hosted the awards, and sponsors presented winners with their trophies. Concluding the awards was a mass group shot of the deserving winners, before a live band, Pop Logic, opened the dance floor.
The afterparty featured a sponsored bar, retro arcade games, sweet carts, and video booths, ending the evening at 1am.
Why Victoria Warehouse?
The 2024 Convenience Awards were moved to Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, from its usual home in London. Victoria Warehouse was chosen because of its versatile spaces and rustic look. The client was able to use The Cotton Sheds as a complete blank canvas, bringing the warehouse space to life with impressive and bespoke production, provided by Sterling, AV, theming, and decor.
The verdict?
Guest feedback was fantastically positive about the entire event, from the new location and the venue to the awards itself. Convenience Awards are planning a return for 2025!
“The Victoria Warehouse team were excellent in the lead up to the event and on the night, all the way through to 3am. Nothing was too much trouble.” – Megan Schwarz, Event Manager at William Reed
Photography: Carl Sukonik
