Celebrating a nation of shopkeepers

On Thursday I was a guest at the Convenience Retail Awards in London, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tate & Lyle, Proctor & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline and Tates Spar, Aberystwyth.

It would be easy to mock an event like this, with its "celebrity" compere (Dermot Murnaghan), flashing lights, deafening rock music and cheesy stand-up comedian. (Actually, he was quite good.) As for the awards, it's hard to get excited about best battery merchandising, best chilled products display, best food-to-go offer, best soft drinks merchandising or best ambient grocery display.

Behind the glitz, however, is a picture of Britain that deserves a higher profile - thousands of men (and women!) working incredibly hard to build small, thriving businesses that provide an essential service to their local communities.

Making a success of any shop, large or small, town or village, is no easy task. I can't imagine the hours these guys work, year after year. They deserve their awards and the respect of their peers. But they also deserve wider recognition. Unfortunately, if you're not Stuart Rose or Philip Green few people are interested.

Britain, they used to say, is a nation of shopkeepers. It still is. We just don't hear about it very often.