McCann has worked for Bestway at the depot for 10 years, and has a huge amount of experience having worked in the industry for the past 26 years.

A hands-on manager, McCann's approach to working together is popular with suppliers. It has fostered a great culture of teamwork and delivered excellent results for the depot, whose sales are already up 16% this year. McCann has been recognised for this award, however, for his support of high impact, innovative displays. He understands that imaginative and eye-catching displays attract customers' attention, and as a result generates incremental purchases.

Demonstrating his commitment to display are two recent initiatives implemented in conjunction with Nestlé Rowntree. The first initiative is a new permanent display in a prime position, right at the front of the Bestway depot, where shoppers cannot miss it. Known as the 'boxing ring', McCann says the display "provides an excellent focal point for customers at the front of depot, and has had a strong impact in terms of generating incremental sales since it was installed."

The second initiative is within the biscuits category. Nestlé Rowntree is helping independent retailers to capitalise on the biscuits market, with a range of lower count 79p packs designed especially for small shops across favourite brands like KitKat, Blue Riband and Breakaway. The lower count outers also make them less expensive for retailers wanting to stock a range.

To highlight the biscuits opportunity, McCann and Nestlé Rowntree have installed bay branding in the biscuits aisle. The branding makes the aisle, and the leading brands such as KitKat - the biggest selling biscuit in the UK market - highly visible to customers.

McCann ensures the biscuit aisle always has full availability - important for its large proportion of customers who are delivered to - and is well presented. His focus on good stock rotation and minimising damages ensures customers are happy and return to the depot again and again.

Plus, with staff that are kept up to date with the most recent product knowledge and promotional news, and are always on hand to advise customers, McCann has achieved a fantastic increase in confectionery sales of 27% so far in 2006.

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