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Amazon, PlayStation and… Seedee Jons! A local business has proved they can keep up with some of the biggest names in "the BAFTAs of the gaming industry".
Named as MCV Magazine’s ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’, the Jersey shop joined some of the industry’s biggest names as a newcomer to the publication’s winners’ list earlier this month.
John Holley, owner of Seedee Jons, spoke to Express about winning the esteemed award and what it means for his business.
Pictured: The local games shop has been recognised on the London stage at this year's MCV Awards (MCV Awards 2019).
Speaking about MCV, John said that the publication is the go-to “for anybody who buys games in the UK,” explaining that it is the country’s game distributors who have to nominate businesses for the award.
Seedee Jons, which moved back into town in 2014, has been put forward for the newcomer category by their distributor for the past four years, but they never managed to clinch a victory - until this year.
“So after having always been the bridesmaid, never the bride; all of the hard work finally paid off!” John joked.
Pictured: Seedee Jons in town.
Talking about the awards ceremony itself, which took place in London and was described by John as being like the BAFTAs of the industry, he said: “It’s very prestigious – you’ve got everybody there from small retailers up to the likes of Sainsbury’s, Curry’s and Amazon. I was quite nervous, obviously I’d come over from Jersey… and I thought nobody would know me.”
Recalling how he felt when his name was called out, John told Express: “It was one of the highlights of my business career.”
When asked what this accolade means for his business, John said: “First of all, winning the award at the ceremony, it’s a great way of networking. As soon as I’d won the award, there were drinks afterwards with hundreds of people coming up to me asking what we do [and] would I be interested in working with them or buying stuff from them.”
The independent games retailer also said he felt proud to be representing Jersey at the ceremony.
“I really felt I’d put Jersey on the map of the games industry by winning this award,” he said.
John added that there has been a swell of support from the public following the business’s win: “On Facebook and Instagram everybody’s congratulated me, there’s so many people who were thrilled for us, it was quite humbling… the public have been stopping in the street congratulating me.”
John also paid tribute to his hardworking staff, in particular his Games Buyer and Shop Manager, Christian Le Cornu, for contributing to the store’s big win this year.
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