A STORE owner has expressed pride after beating thousands of competitors to win a national award.

Hidir Koc, who owns The Village Store in South Woodford, sealed the CollectPlus “Store of the Quarter” award following positive customer feedback.

Mr Koc, who has owned the business for 15 years with his wife, outperformed more than 7,000 other stores nationwide across a variety of categories.

Neil Ashworth, CEO of CollectPlus, presented Mr Koc with the award.

Mr Koc said: “My wife and I have owned our shop for 15 years and we were so proud to receive this award. We have enjoyed getting to know our customers better since joining the CollectPlus network five years ago.

“Offering CollectPlus services has made our store more memorable and we are proud to be an important delivery location for our customers."

CollectPlus’s “Store of the Quarter” award recognises businesses with high levels of customer satisfaction and service levels across the network.