Brixton shop Diverse in running for ‘retail Oscar’

Diverse owner Anita Thorpe outside her shop
Diverse owner Anita Thorpe

Brixton’s Diverse gift shop on Coldharbour Lane has been recognised as one of the best card retailers in the UK, reaching the finals of the national awards for the category.

Retas Awards – also known as the Retail Oscars – are now in their 15th year. They were launched by Progressive Greetings magazine to recognise card sellers across the retail spectrum.

Greeting cards are sold in one in six shops in the UK, so reaching the finals of The Retas is definitely an achievement.

Diverse founder Anita Thorpe said: “It’s great to be recognised for our efforts in bringing inclusive greeting cards to Brixton.

“It’s something we’ve been committed to from day one and our nomination shows that the industry is starting to take note of the importance of representation of different social and ethnic groups in greeting card design and marketing.

“It would be the icing on the cake if we won, as we’re celebrating our 20th year in business in 2019”.

Finalists were decided by a poll of greeting card suppliers, reps and agents and validated by a panel of experts.