The director behind Huntingdon-based business Music Street Guitars and his team stood head and shoulders above the other finalists in the Retailer of the Year category at last year’s Huntingdonshire Business Awards.

And the team are still proud of their award success, which was secured thanks to their hard work and highly-motivated, trained staff.

The Hunts Post caught up with director Tony Rawson to find out what success has meant for the specialist music store.

“It was quite overwhelming on the night. It is not like we are an average shop so most of our customers come from outside the area,” Mr Rawson said.

Upon winning the award the business advertised its success with a poster in the shop front to celebrate the achievement.

“Following the win a lot of our regular customers came in and congratulated us,” Mr Rawson added.

This year the business has taken a new approach to its sales by investing in its online presence.

“We are still the same team here but we are now trying to push the online side of things more than we did last year to drive more business to the store,” Mr Rawson said.

The 2016 judges were impressed with the store which, they said, submitted a well-prepared entry backed-up by supporting evidence.

They added: “Music Street, as the name suggests, sell principally guitars to a market which has expanded from a local to regional, national and even international customer-base using highly-motivated, trained staff.”

For those thinking of entering the Retailer of the Year award, the category will focus on sales performance, plus how the relationship between the business and the consumer is developed.

The judges will also be looking for the following:

What distinguishes you from other retailers?

What measures are in place to promote your business?

How has your performance improved or exceeded expectations?

What were the factors that influence that performance?

All entries need to be received either through the dedicated awards website or via the post by September 8.

There are 12 categories and businesses can enter up to three, with a different application for each award entered.

You can find information on how to enter the awards by visiting www.huntsbusinessawards.co.uk.