Riot torn Hackney newsagent Siva Kandiah wins national retailer award
Independent Community Retailer of the Year Siva Kandiah (centre) with Jon Birt from Payzone who sponsored the award and Anita Rani from the One Show who hosted the evening. Photograph: National Federation of Retail Newsagents
Clarence Road shopkeeper Siva Kandiah has won the Independent Community Retailer of the Year Award, it was announced yesterday (Tuesday, 18 October 2011).
Siva made headlines when his shop was stripped bare in the Hackney riots but customers and residents raised £30,000 to support him,and he was able to re-open two weeks later.
The award was conferred by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents at a black-tie dinner hosted by One Show’s Anita Rani at Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel last night (18 October).
Siva said: “It’s great news after everything that’s happened. I feel very happy and very proud.”
He said when he first saw the state of his shop he wanted to give up on retail altogether.
He might not have changed his mind, he added, without the incredible response he received. Financially also it could have been impossible to keep the shop.
“So many people came forward to support me – morally and physically as well as with money. This is a good community and everyone feels like this is their shop and I’m a part of them.”
He feels especially lucky after hearing about shops in other parts of London that might be unable to reopen at all after the riots.
“It’s very sad that people have lost their livelihoods overnight like this. I feel very sorry for them after what I’ve experienced.”
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents said they nominated Siva after attending his reopening and seeing firsthand the respect he has earned from the community.
NFRN spokesperson Anne Bingham said the lengths people went to help Siva reflects the quality service he provides: “Siva worked incredibly hard for 11 years to build up his business and it was destroyed overnight.
“The fact that his customers and neighbours rallied round to save his shop is a huge testimony to his popularity in the community.”
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Clarence Road shop keeper Siva Kandiah re-opens after Hackney riots