Wardini Books named New Zealand’s best book store

Wardini Books
Wardini Books: New Zealand’s best bookstore.

Hawkes Bay’s bookstore Wardini Books has won the Nielsen Bookshop of the Year title for 2020.

Owned by Gareth and Louise Ward, the bookstore was awarded for its excellent omnichannel operation, customer service and its Covid-19 response. The award ceremony was hosted online on Zoom this year as Auckland was under Covid Alert Level 3.

“As judges we saw abundant evidence of resilience, innovation, kotahitanga, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga,” said Chris Szekely, judge of Nielsen NZ Bookshop of the Year.

“Reading the entries in this category was uplifting and pure pleasure. It was also challenging, because every finalist in this category was outstanding.

“In choosing a winner, we were drawn to an entry where there were indisputably strong bonds between bookshop team members and their diverse customers, with numerous examples of going the extra mile, reaching out and caring for one another, caring for – and within – the community,” he added. 

Gareth and Louise Ward of Wardini Books celebrating their success. Image Facebook.

Wardini Books operates two stores: one in Napier, the other in nearby Havelock North. 

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