Supercheap Auto took out the retail industry's top honour at the prestigious Australian Retailers Association (ARA) awards.

Supercheap Auto was crowned the '2008 Australian Retailer of the Year' at the ARA awards, held in Sydney on Tuesday evening.

The ARA Retail Awards recognise outstanding performance by national retail chains and acknowledge excellence in a number of areas including visual merchandising, customer service, staff training and product selection.

Supercheap Auto's Chief Operating Officer, David Ajala, was delighted to receive this prestigious award and said winning was quite a feat especially given the stiff competition.

"Competing against successful national retail finalists including David Jones, JB Hi Fi, Noni B, Rebel Sport, Sussan and Woolworths is an honour and I am extremely proud to receive this national award on behalf of the whole Supercheap Auto team."

At the awards, the ARA commended Supercheap for its strengths in areas of teamwork, team development and team-focused initiatives.

David Ajala said he believes the organisation's success is mainly owing to Supercheap Auto's culture and team members.

All of our team members, from front line sales people to managers, play an integral role in the success of our organisation."

"There is a strong sense of pride and passion in the business - this translates into a commitment to customer service and a fantastic product range, and this is why our customers keep coming back."

Supercheap Auto opened its first store in 1974, from the modest earnings made by founders Reg and Hazel Rowe who established a mail order business, run from home.

Today, Supercheap Auto is a thriving business with 250 stores across Australia and New Zealand and forms part of the Super Cheap Auto Group (incorporating Supercheap Auto, BCF Boating Camping and Fishing and Goldcross Bicycles).

The Super Cheap Auto Group is the seventh largest retailing company in Australia by market capitalisation and achieved sales of more than $700 million in the 2007/08 financial year.

The Super Cheap Auto Group business is certainly one to watch - the group is investing significant resources into developing their employees and this is likely to show a strong return on investment, building on its current success.

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Emily Benson
Phillips Group
Phone: +61 7 3230 5000
Email: ebenson@phillipsgroup.com.au