Volkswagen retailer drives away with top prize

A 19 year old garden centre manager from Hungerford drove Volkswagen retailer Ridgeway Newbury to victory at the Royal Berkshire County Show this weekend with his inspired floral display.

Keen Volkswagen enthusiast James Olney, stock control manager at Thatcham Garden Centre, spent more than two days creating a glorious bed of cyclamens in the shape of the Volkswagen roundel and the Ridgeway Uffington Whitehorse Corporate logo.

The dedication and commitment James put into the display was key to Ridgeway Newbury’s success at the show. The Volkswagen retailer exhibited the full range of passenger vehicles from the nippy Fox to the new Touareg, and unveiled the brand new Touran to Berkshire motorists for the very first time, driving away with two awards: 1st Best Automotive Trade Exhibit and 2nd Best Trade Exhibit (exceeding 15 metres frontage).

Simon Smith, brand manager at Ridgway Newbury, said: “The Royal County of Berkshire Show is always a huge success. Our stand is very popular with visitors to the show who enjoy being able to look at the full range of Volkswagen passenger cars at their leisure.

“This year was even more rewarding given that we were honoured with two exhibitor awards. Our special thanks go to James and the team at Thatcham Garden Centre, as well as the Ridgway team who have been very passionate about the show and worked until early hours of the morning getting the stand ready.”

James said: “I really enjoyed getting involved in the stand design and creating the floral display. The finished display was reward enough for the hard work but to win the exhibitor award was a great surprise and the perfect end to the weekend.”

Thatcham Garden Centre on Bath Road in Thatcham, is part of The Garden Centre Group. General Manager, Lewis Fox, said: “We have been working with Simon Smith at Ridgeway Newbury to plan the show stand for some time and were delighted to hear of the award, showing that all of the hard work has paid off. We are both passionate about our businesses continuing to work together and look forward to the partnership going forward."

Residents who were unable to visit the show can still catch up on the latest developments from Ridgeway Volkswagen by calling into the retailer on Newbury Motor Park where the new super efficient Touran is taking pride of place in the show room alongside the County Show awards.