2020 Electra Business & Innovation Award Winners and Finalists
ELECTRA BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2020
Winner: Foxton New World
Sponsor: Electra
Judges Comments: “As an essential business during the COVID-19 lockdown, Foxton New World was provided the conditions for success unavailable to many other businesses. Yet Foxton New World went even further, taking steps to meet the different needs of its community, making deliveries to vulnerable members of the community, setting up an outside marquee for customers in the queue, increasing the options for the meal solutions area, and running promotions to encourage the community to shop locally, including at other stores. These innovative ideas were win/win. A win for the community, and a win for the business experiencing a better financial performance again this year, despite the COVID-19 crisis.”
Innovation - During COVID-19
Winner: My Ride Levin
Sponsor: Finman
Judges Comments: “My Ride Levin is a company riding the wave of innovation in a very competitive market, they are always looking for better ways to operate and demonstrated this by successfully pivoting during the Covid-19 lockdown. An example of the innovation they are embracing is the Tacx Training bike, making VR simulation a reality, putting customers in the thick of the Tour de France mountain stages, or in a live race in the against their friends from all around the world.”
Finalists: The Baked Dane, My Ride Levin, Waikanae Beach Four Square & Beachside Dental Surgery.
Small Business
Winner: Waikanae Beach Four Square
Sponsor: NZME
Judges Comments: “The Judges found that the Waikanae Beach Four Square gives back from the heart, with accolades such as the National Winner in the Prospa Local Business Hero Awards. The company maximises its ability to add value such as through the free deliveries to those less able, or to the vulnerable during the COVID-19 period. A recent Stuff article certainly demonstrated the positive social impact on the community.”
Finalists: Cordall, Waikanae Beach Four Square & Steel-it Framing Ltd.
New/Emerging
Winner: The Baked Dane
Sponsor: Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce
Judges Comments: “The Baked Dane’s strength is that it listens to customers and has created three new products from doing this. During the COVID-19 lockdown, The Baked Dane attracted ‘new’ customers with its sourdough kit idea. This built on everyone’s new-found love of baking during the virus crisis. The company demonstrated resource efficiency through optimising production processes to reduce power consumption and reduce use of baking paper. The Baked Dane is also an excellent and profitable example of closed loop recycling with unsold loaves of bread being developed into a new product – Garlic Rye Chips.”
Finalists: The Baked Dane, Work Ready Kāpiti, My Ride Levin, Shepherdess & Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.
Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism Award
Winner: Shepherdess
Sponsor: Air Chathams
Judges Comments: “The adage: ‘find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life’ fits the Shepherdess. Early in its journey, the Shepherdess’ response showed a very clear passion, an admirable purpose, and has demonstrated solid follow through. Its use of specific social media to create interest and reinforce messages is impressive. The Shepherdess is on the right track to apply more data-driven analysis to help drive advertising and partner revenue. There will be audiences outside the Shepherdess’ initial targets who will love its stories and pictures.”
Finalists: Shepherdess, Relish Café & 50-50
Food Production and Processing
Winner: The Baked Dane
Sponsor: We Love Local
Judges Comments: “The passion for good baking, a business that could be run initially from the family kitchen and a desire to enable parents to work around their childcare commitments makes for a delightful story. Creativity and commitment to reducing waste has been applied by the Baked Dane to produce its unique flatbread using pre-loved machinery. The quick innovation of the sour dough starter kit during COVID provided an opportunity for families to learn to bake bread together.”
Construction and Trades
Winner: Steel-It Framing Ltd
Sponsor: Kapinua
Judges Comments: “During COVID-19, The Building Hub continued to buzz, with designers taking their projects home to work on. It was good to see the company relying on its accountant as a sounding board, and, also using a mentor, exploring a long-term strategic view. This all goes to ensuring resilience and the viability of the great innovative ideas behind The Building Hub concept.”
Finalists: Cordall & Steel-It Framing Ltd
Professional and Business Services, or Technology
Winner: Beachside Dental Surgery
Sponsor: Digital Café
Judges Comments: “Beachside Dental exemplifies a huge respect for its customers, recognising that those with high anxiety and fear of treatment have a right to quicker treatment than happens with specialist referrals. During the COVID-19 lockdown, it moved rapidly into phone consultations where it was possible to prescribe pain relief and anti-biotics without charge. Being quick off the mark to obtain PPE, Beachside Dental was able to be the sole practice in the Kapiti region to provide relief of pain treatment from Level 3 onwards.”
Finalists: Captured By Friday Photography, Beachside Dental Surgery & Ecoshifter Ltd
Retail
Winners: Foxton New World
Sponsor: New World Levin
Judges Comments: “Foxton New World continues to impress with its customer-centric focus. Its focus on innovation, given its every-day operations as a supermarket, was an unexpected attribute. It invested in a SAP system, which is business management software to complement its Customer Relationship Management model. Then, Foodstuffs went further, sending its SAP champion to learn about the implementation from another store. It was possible to use this tool to improve customer loyalty and retention as well as EBITDA. Foxton New World have demonstrated genuine care about employees as people and invested in them in a highly personal way, to the benefit of the employees, their families, and the wider community.”
Finalists: My Ride Levin, Waikanae Beach Four Square, Foxton New World & Framed Alive.
Not for Profit, Community and Public Services Award
Winner: Horowhenua College & Waiopehu College
Sponsor: EECA
Judges Comments: “Creativity, ingenuity, adaptability instilled in students through a curriculum designed to nurture, inspire, and empower leads to a curriculum designed to engage learners and their teachers. As a result, the curriculum was fit for purpose during the COVID-19 crisis. The sharing of ideas and resources, and referrals of potential learners and staff between the two colleges enhances the success of this approach to learning to think and problem solve. The Judges found that this is a fine example of two organisations collaborating to enable both to remain relevant in the modern learning world and to present a choice for both parents and students as to which college is best suited to individual learning styles.”
Finalists: Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, Horowhenua College & Waiopehu College, Fun Zone Group Ltd & Work Ready Kāpiti.
