Liverpool Cathedral Shop has won the Tourism Retailer of the Year in the Mersey Partnership Annual Tourism Awards beating stiff competition from locations as Liverpool One, World Museum (Liverpool) Shop, and the Chocolate Cellar.

 

The award recognises the shop's place at the heart of the visitor centre at the cathedral, the website www.cathedralshop.com and the unique retail mix that it offers, providing a wide range of Christian resources for clergy and lay people, and also appealing to those visiting the Cathedral for the first time.  Profits from the shop go towards the upkeep of the Cathedral.

 

This year's award follows last year's success at the awards where the Cathedral was named 'Large Visitor Attraction of the Year', beating competition from Tate Liverpool, National Museums and Galleries, The Bluecoat and the Beatles Story.

 

Kevin Stott, Retail Manager, said, ''It is fantastic to win in such a prestigious category.  Our aim is to achieve a mix between meeting the needs of those who want resources for faith and worship, and also who may come to the Cathedral as occasional visitors.  We want everyone to be able to take away something that reminds them that were, and always will be welcome at Liverpool Cathedral.  We are always looking at new ways to exapnds the choice available and meet the needs of all to ensure that what we offer is as inclusive as possible.''

 

Eryl Parry, Director of Enterprise, added, ''The shop team has worked tremendously hard to build up the shop and achieve what is a complex retail mix.  The feedback we have had from regular customers or those here just once, has shown that it is working.  The shop website also allows people to experience what the Cathedral has to offer from anywhere in the world.  The wider the choice we can offer, the more we can contribute to the upkeep of the Cathedral.  We are delighted to have been nominated for this award and I would like to congratulate everybody involved with the shop.''