Tell us who your retail hero is!

Coronavirus is one of the biggest challenges many of us have faced in decades. The retail industry has played a key role alongside the NHS and many other industries to help combat coronavirus.

The BRC’s #RetailHero campaign aims to promote the stories of those colleagues on the ground who are going out of their way to help others during these extremely challenging times. From delivering supplies to NHS workers and the elderly, to bringing essential services to the doorsteps of the vulnerable, the retail community have rallied round to support the country.

Please show your support and tell us who your retail hero is by using the #RetailHero!

Here are just a few stories we’ve heard!

James at Boots

PDC driver James Clowes’ career has taken an unexpected turn over the past few weeks, with them being the saddest and most challenging. James has gone from piloting a MIGHTY Dash 8, to starting a vital new role delivering essential medicines as part of our PDC team for Boots.

The Team as Specsavers, Buxton

An opticians in Buxton has been knitting for victory to support and motivate Derbyshire’s front-line NHS workers and those diagnosed with coronavirus. Although the store is closed for all but essential and urgent care, furloughed staff at Specsavers Buxton have been keeping themselves busy crocheting items for NHS staff and those in care. The team have been busy knitting and donating colourful mask straps for front-line nurses and care workers who might need a little bit of a morale boost in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Adam at Lloyds Pharmacy, Cadishead

Meet Adam, a Pharmacist Manager at Lloyds Pharmacy in Cadishead. Both of Adam's two young children have Fabrys Disease and Ports, requiring enzyme replacement therapy every fortnight. His wife also has Fabrys disease and weak kidneys. All three are at high risk and need to be fully isolated to shield them from COVID-19. Knowing he couldn’t risk infecting his family if he caught the virus, Adam has moved to temporary accommodation for his work. He is now isolated from his family for at least 12 weeks for their own protection. But, thanks to the kindness of his supervisor, Linda Potter, and her husband, Darren, Adam was able to move into temporary accommodation and get the things he needed to be away from his family home.

Adam is a pharmacist… and he is committed to protecting lives.

Daniel at Screwfix

When the appeal went out for any and all PPE, Dan answered the call with his 3D printer. Dan used his 3D printer to make high standard face shields for his local Doctors. These face shields help prevent the spread of covid-19 and help reduce the chances of contracting it.

Mary at M&S Foodhall, Walkden

Mary Cafferkey is a Womenswear Denim Advisor at M&S Trafford. Last month, on 20th March, Mary donated bone marrow to her brother who has been unwell. Mary has since recovered from the operation, checked medical advice that she’s ok to be at work and returned to M&S full of enthusiasm and determination to play her part in feeding the nation. Despite being a Clothing & Home colleague, Mary has taken the transition into Foods in her stride, upskilling on manning the self-service checkouts and giving customers an all-round amazing shopping experience. Head of Region Lisa spotted her in her new surroundings at Walkden Foodhall and commented on how fantastic she was at her new store.

Mike at Boots Opticians, Nottingham

Mike Simmonds normally works as part of the Boots Opticians team but is now volunteering to help support the NHS COVID-19 testing working on the site in Beeston, Nottingham. He says it “was something I absolutely want to do to help get frontline staff who are in isolation back to work.”

Sophie at SPAR, Hillindon

Sophie Towers of SPAR Hillingdon (Burnley) commissioned a bespoke, electronic traffic light display to ensure effective social distancing in-store, as well as investing in high vis jackets, protective screens, face masks and gloves for all staff.

Sophie also works with a local volunteer group to enable daily home deliveries for isolated rural communities, and encourages a click and collect service, where customers pay over the phone and staff place shopping in customers’ cars, protecting both from unnecessary social contact.

Sophie has also altered her range to provide essential free-from products for customers struggling to cater for dietary requirements.

(The Independent Achievers Academy)

Emma at Boots, Tyne and Wear

Emma Jones, a pharmacist based in Tyne and Wear spent her Wednesday evening doing a virtual pub quiz with 96-year-old, world war two veteran Tom, who is one of the store’s regular customers.

Stacey at Co-Op, Upper Cambourne

Co-op store manager, Stacey Fullicks is committed to making a difference and has been described as a local hero by her colleagues. Stacey’s work has seen support provided for a number of groups and individuals, including Willingham Hub – whose members are described as a “vital lifeline in the community, helping those in need in their community get through this challenging time by ensuring access to basic essentials” and Cambourne Crescent, a charity working to unite volunteers in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis with its motto “if you are self-isolating, we can help”. Stacey believes there is always more that can be done to help, and to be kind and a simple act of kindness really does go a long way.

Michaela at Waitrose, South Harrow

Michaela usually spends her time as a Healthy Eating Specialist advising customers who want help to make healthier choices. When social distancing put this on hold, she helped set up a shop in their café specifically for NHS workers. Michaela made sure NHS workers from nearby hospitals, including Northwick Park Hospital and Great Ormond Street, could get easy access to the food and essentials they needed and served quickly after long shifts. 

Gemma at Screwfix

Gemma is volunteering on the maternity ward at Cardiff Hospital. She has helped arrange for those on the ward to receive items donated through Amazon wish lists and is working hard to make sure that the new mums feel special during these hard times.

Not On The High Street Partner Fearless Flamingo

Charlie is the force behind Fearless Flamingo, a Partner with notonthehighstreet since 2019.  A brilliantly unique illustrator and mum of three, Charlie's prints and illustrations for children are designed to inspire, motivate and stimulate conversations with children to encourage a focus on positive emotions and attitudes.  In response to the Coronavirus, Charlie created a range of free, downloadable mindfulness colouring-in sheets for children to express themselves, and 'Post Pals', downloaded letters to colour, complete and send so that little ones can keep in touch with their friends.

Alice from Waitrose, South Harrow 

Alice has been coordinating much of the community activity from South Harrow, including identifying vulnerable and elderly customers to support them with their shopping, even delivering to their houses on occasions. She has been making lunch bags for district nurses; care packages for local community groups for people with learning disabilities and care homes, donating Easter eggs to NHS workers and giving out flowers to customers. 

Kathryn at Specsavers, Marlborough

Marlborough opticians stepped up to help a soldier who was being deployed to help enforce the Coronavirus lockdown and was in urgent need of contact lenses. After finding out he would be miles away from home and realising his contact lenses were about to run out, the soldier called the store. He was keen to get hold of a supply of lenses so that he wouldn’t need to keep touching his face to push his glasses back on. When store director, Kathryn Andrews got the call she was determined to help. Luckily, they had them and as they were only open for essential and emergency care Kathryn drove them to him herself, picking up some hydrating eye drops and a bag of sweets to give him for the journey too!

Not On The High Street Partner MijMoj Design

A partner with notonthehighstreet since 2009, MijMoj Design work mainly in hardword and design and handcraft a range of beautiful gifts from their studio workshop in North Wales.  Since the crisis, owners Sean and Gayfn have been working around the clock to produce face-shields for the NHS and, as of today, they have produced 550 face shields for NHS workers. They have produced these alongside running their business which has seen double digit growth since the beginning of lockdown. What is even more remarkable, is that to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their team, everyone was furloughed at the beginning of the lockdown, leaving just Sean and Gafyn to run the business and keep it thriving.

Chris, Gareth and the team at M&S, Tonbridge

Alongside Store Manager Gareth Razzell and many other members of the Tonbridge team, Foods Section Manager Chris Lascelles has gone above and beyond to support vulnerable members of the local community. With many customers self-isolating and unable to leave the house to shop for themselves, the team have taken the time to personally take down the shopping requests of several regular customers that are stuck at home and in need of support, and deliver their much needed supplies on their way home from work. As well as dropping off supplies, the team have also been checking-in on vulnerable customers via telephone, with one particular customer – Wendy – writing a card to express her gratitude for the support she’s received since her husband died earlier in the year.

The Team at Specsavers, Oxford

The team at an Oxford opticians is pulling together to help provide urgent and essential care to those who need it.  Closed for all routine testing, Specsavers on Queen Street has been able to help a number of key workers to make sure they’re able to continue with their jobs, so vital during these difficult times. A local hospital worker had his post cataract surgery appointment cancelled because of the Coronavirus and was struggling with his vision which had changed significantly. Optometrist Maninder Gudray was able to test Mr Lakpour and provide him with a new set of distance and reading specs which were made for him in 20 minutes, after the store had officially closed, so he could walk out of the store with them.  The team has also helped an ICU nurse working at the John Radcliffe Hospital. She could not wear her glasses because of the protective mask she needs to put on which was making working very difficult, but they were able to provide her with some contact lenses which she was delighted with.

Bex at Poundland, Poole

Bex Nichols has been an inspiration to her colleagues with the way she has handled the challenging times. The store manager at Poundland, Falkland Square, Poole, is seen as a great role model for her team and other managers. Led by Bex, the store launched an initiative to donate Easter eggs to the local hospital, paramedics and fire fighters. She has been with the business for nearly 15 years and her can-do attitude and smiling personality have been a positive influence on colleagues and customers. Putting together a weekly goody bag to say thank you to store colleagues is typical of her morale-boosting approach.

Heidi at Waitrose, Twyford

Heidi previously worked on an Intensive Care Unit and her husband is a firefighter, so understand the pressure on the NHS and emergency services. She’s coordinated support across the local community, including for the Covid Community Support Group and the vulnerable and elderly, as well as organising food and essentials for the emergency services. Heidi has raised money through raffles and bake sales for the ICU team at Frimley Park Hospital and NHS. She also sent Easter eggs to a local care home and gave out flowers to NHS workers, customers and Partners who are mums working on Mother’s Day.

Lisa at Boots, Todmorden Health Centre

Lisa is a pharmacist who works at Boots in Todmorden Health Centre. She found out a vulnerable patient’s television was broken and he was sitting in isolation in silence and alone. She found and contacted the patient’s godson and arranged for a television of her own, to be delivered and set up in his house so he doesn’t feel too lonely any more.

Rob at Poundland, Wigan Distribution Centre

HGV driver Rob Brown has gone the extra mile to help the community. He volunteered to do an extra shift to help out colleagues at Poundland’s Wigan distribution centre and donated the day’s pay to help vulnerable people affected by the lockdown. Knowing the centre already supported lots of charities, Rob offered to buy – and deliver – essential items for anyone who was unable to get out of the house. Among those getting supplies were a colleague’s mum who had just come out of hospital and nurses at a local hospital who received a bag of moisturiser and chocolate.

Louise at Waitrose, Bracknell

Louise normally helps customers on the welcome desk at the store, but a colleague suggested she sing to customers waiting outside the shop due to social distancing measures. Cheering and clapping followed her performance,with many thanking Louise for keeping them entertained and bringing a smile to people’s faces during a difficult time. Watch Louise here! 

Hadeal at Boots, Lancaster

Hadeal Jaidy has vowed to continue helping Boots in Lancaster St Nicholas Arcades get much needed prescriptions to patients while shielding a member of her family from the coronavirus by moving out of her home. She loves her job and feels that it is her duty to support as much as she can during this time.

Lauren and the team at MADE.com

Lauren Spearman is the Head of Brand Advocacy at MADE.COM and she has taken a pivotal role in donating products to NHS hospitals nationwide during this crisis. She spoke to over 100 doctors and nurses to understand their individual needs and coordinated a team of MADE workers across departments and cities to ensure donations arrived as fast as possible. Customer Service, Logistics and Delivery Partners, among others, all played a key role. All in all, MADE donated over 2,000 items to more than 180 staff rooms including sofa beds and dining tables, through to crockery and accessories.

Wil at Waitrose, Meanwood

Wil worked for John Lewis Leeds as a home design stylist, but has been helping at his local Waitrose. Normally giving advice on people’s homes, Wil was helping to keep shelves full, working on the tills and even did a driving test to be able to drive the delivery vans to customers. After a few weeks of helping out at Waitrose, he has returned to his normal job, working on virtual home styling appointments from home - a new initiative launched by the retailer. 

CJ Lang, SPAR Wholesaler

SPAR Scotland wholesaler CJ Lang and Son Limited has donated 1,400 boxes of Cadbury Heroes to Ninewells Hospital based in Dundee. Colin McLean, CEO of SPAR Scotland said: “We really appreciate the amazing work all frontline NHS staff at Ninewells Hospital are doing to help local residents in the Tayside region during this current crisis. As they are our heroes, we thought it would be only fitting to treat them to boxes of Cadbury Heroes – the chocolates in the box may be small but it’s a mighty thank you from all of us at SPAR Scotland.”

Kelly at Waitrose, Clerkenwell

Kelly and her team have been out making deliveries to their local community, even after their shifts finish. Partners at Clerkenwell really wanted to thank the schools that were open for children of key workers so donated food, drink and treats to them. Kelly has also been making care packages to distribute to elderly and vulnerable customers, receiving letters of thanks from customers for looking after them.   

Becki at M&S Simply Food, Cheetham Hill

Becki Gorman manages a busy M&S Simply Food store at Cheetham Hill in Manchester. In 2018 she suffered a brain tumour and had to take 9 months off work for surgery. Thankfully she made a full recovery and returned to her role. Becki is eternally grateful to the NHS for saving her life and as a way of saying thank you, last month she signed up as a Volunteer Responder to support the NHS response to COVID-19.  Over the past 3 weeks, Becki has clocked up over 14 hours of volunteer work - which has been a mixture of vital medical drops to vulnerable people shielding themselves at home, and regular check-in phone calls with those living alone who might be feeling lonely.

Emma at Poundland, Brighton

Colleagues of Emma Goodier say her willingness to go above and beyond has helped keep them going during the past couple of months. An experienced retailer, she joined Poundland just over a year ago as store manager at the London Road store in Brighton and has made a big impact. As well as being a great leader in her own store she has offered support and guidance during the lockdown to less experienced colleagues and their teams at two nearby stores. She has been in charge of implementing social distancing across three stores and has taken on additional responsibilities such as colleague welfare.

Alex, Dan and Kevin at Company Shop Group

There’s powers in numbers and these really are Company Shop Group’s team of Surplus Superheroes! Alex Heritage Briggs, Dan Wake and Kevin Fish work tirelessly every day to provide a bespoke shop on behalf of our members who are isolating or shielding. It’s Company Shop Group’s new and exclusive personal shopping service ‘Pro Shopper’. What’s more, our members are guaranteed next day delivery – so Alex, Dan and Kevin are working even harder to fulfil all of our orders as quickly as possible, while maintaining our usual high standards.

Jo at Poundland, Darlington

Jo Hammond has been the driving force behind in-store donations to support NHS staff and patients, as well as supporting care homes and food banks. The store manager at Poundland Darlington Highrow is happy to roll up her sleeves and deliver the donations personally, as well as taking shopping to the homes of elderly and vulnerable customers.

Jo makes sure that nearly 2,000 of her customers get daily updates on Facebook, telling them about product availability and launches. She has built up quite a following thanks to her cheeky sense of humour, bringing a smile to people’s faces in-store and online.

The Team at SPAR, Locharron

Lochcarron is a picturesque village of white-washed cottages on the shores of Loch Carron in the Wester Ross area of the Highlands with a population of nearly one thousand people. This gem of a village in the western Highlands offers peace and tranquillity. However, during the Covid-19 crisis, one family has been working tirelessly to keep their local community going. Emma and Hector Maclean, together with their daughter Kayleigh and a brilliant team of 6 employees, at SPAR Lochcarron have been delivering essential food and drink items from their SPAR store to residents in the region.

Seamus at Waitrose, Salisbury

Horse trainer Seamus Mullins needed a new source of income since the Covid-19 outbreak so he decided to go to work with his daughter-in-law, who is a team manager at Waitrose & Partners in Salisbury. He works two four-hour shifts shelf-stacking for Waitrose each week. He said “It has been a real eye-opener; seeing how people cope with social distancing and their shopping habits. I seem to be on the cheese and yogurt aisle and all I can say is - I never knew there was so much cheese in the world!”

 Jamie at Poundland, Bitterne and Ryan at Poundland, Eastleigh

A phone call from a regular customer at the Poundland store in Bitterne, Southampton, prompted manager Jamie Lipsham into action. The elderly customer, who lived alone and was self-isolating, was unable to visit the store to do his usual shopping. Jamie thought that doing nothing was not good enough and decided to pull out all the stops to help the customer. He spoke to Ryan, manager at the nearby Eastleigh store, and they contacted the man to find out what he needed. They collected his shopping and then delivered it to his home, carefully observing social distancing rules to keep everyone safe. It made his day.

Emma at Boots, Preston

Emma Hodnett is the Boots Store Manager Prestatyn in Preston. She has personally delivered prescriptions to the elderly and vulnerable after her long shifts at work and even took one of her patients a bunch of flowers with her prescription.

The Team at SPAR, Gretna

Gretna day centre is doing a fantastic job collecting prescriptions, running errands, helping with shopping and delivering meals on wheels to local residents who may need a helping hand. SPAR Gretna donated some supplies, including sweets, biscuits, cakes, crisps and toiletries, to hand out with their meals as a little treat during this tough time.

Mick at Boots

Mick Peacock was due to begin a well-earned retirement on Thursday 28 May but has voluntarily postponed his retirement to ensure that, during these difficult times, we have enough cover to support the warehouse in the months ahead.

Jamie at Specsavers, Barry

The mother of a 14-year-old girl from Barry has thanked her local optician for “going above and beyond” to help her family after self-isolation left them unable to get urgent care in-store. Janine Price contacted Specsavers in Barry after her daughter’s glasses broke at home. Her daughter, suffers from a severe heart and lung condition, and as a result, the family had been self-isolating for two weeks and were unable to visit their local store for an urgent appointment. ‘Bex relies on her glasses to do almost everything,’ says Mrs Price.  After receiving the call, optician and store director, Jamie Pullen, visited the family home and helped repair Bex’s glasses standing two metres from the front door, ensuring that her frames and the equipment was thoroughly cleaned to ensure the family remained safe.

Jess at Screwfix, Redditch, Park Farm

Jess received a call from an elderly customer who was struggling to order online. Only half of the essentials he required were available for home delivery and she could hear the distress in his voice as he was self-isolating and unable to collect from store. It took all of 10 minutes out of her day to deliver these goods to his front porch, where he was waiting at his window with the biggest smile, thanking her over and over again.

The Team at SPAR, Lynch

The team at Lynch’s SPAR, have been working on the front line to help provide an essential service for their local community. They get up in the early hours of the morning to come into work and stock the shelves before the shop opens. The early morning for these guys means that their colleagues on the day shift don’t need to be on the shop floor as much which therefore helps to protect our staff and customers. Not only do they do a great job in stocking the shop for our customers, they play a vital part in creating a safe environment to work and shop in. A massive thank you our 5am team! 

The Team at Specsavers, Bolton and Middlebrook

Specsavers in Bolton and Middlebrook have donated two litres of unused sanitiser to local health centre, Tong Moor in Bolton. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many health centres, and other NHS services across, the north west are facing extreme pressure and are in short of vital personal protective equipment and hygienic supplies. With Specsavers in Bolton and Middlebrook only being open for essential and urgent care, they have found themselves with an abundance of excess sanitiser and as a result, have donated two litres of sanitiser.

The Team at Primark

While Primark’s stores have been closed, hundreds of Primark colleagues from stores across the UK have played their part, volunteering to coordinate and deliver care packs with over 150,000 products including underwear, leggings, t-shirts, and towels to hospitals, charities and other healthcare organisations. The care packs are going to busy NHS and frontline staff working back to back shifts or who are staying away from home.  They will also be offered to patients who have no means of getting a fresh change of clothes or toiletries from home. The donations include 74,000 products to the NHS Nightingale Hospital in London, in response to NHS calls for urgent supplies of everyday items.

The Team at EUROSPAR, Lurgan

Partnered up with their local football team to supply hampers for the vulnerable, isolated and elderly in the local area. This has been ongoing since the start of the pandemic and the total has now reached a massive +£1220.