Mantons Cards of Port Erin is the first ever Manx shop to be selected as a finalist in the British Independent Retailers Association, Independent Retailer of the Year Awards.

The Awards, now in their 17th year, were launched by the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) to recognise and reward the very best independent retailers in the U.K. and to celebrate inspiring businesses who are leading the way and exceeding in challenging times.

Every independent shop in the UK was eligible for the competition and the finalists were chosen on a range of qualities including the quality of products offered, customer shopping experience, and customer service. Of special interest to the judges were forward thinking, innovation and team work.

Commented Julie Conway head of BIRA events "Being selected as one of the five finalists is an amazing achievement for a retailer on a small island, considering that Mantons were up against some really prestigious businesses in some large cities. We have received a very high standard of entries for this year’s bira Awards and are proud to announce our outstanding finalists including Mantons Cards. The Gala Dinner is sure to be an inspiring event for all involved and we wish all our finalists the best of luck.”

"After winning a Retas award as the UK's best greeting card shop, everyone at Mantons is delighted to be named as an Independent Retailer of the Year Finalist, especially as we are the only Manx company to ever achieve this honour," commented owner Chris Beards. "This is well deserved recognition for all the hard work, effort and commitment to excellence and of course to helping our customers, which is something all of our team at Mantons takes great pride in".

"Having previously won awards for our customer service, product selection, marketing and window displays within the greeting card and gift sectors, it is fantastic to be recognised by the UK's only awards that are open to every independent retailer in the British Isles" continued Chris.

The winner of this year’s prestigious Independent Retailing Awards will be revealed at an awards evening at the Grange Hotel in Warwickshire on Wednesday 13th May with TV retail expert Mary Portas a keynote speaker.