Silk Cut Squares tour culminates in £10,000 winner

Friday, 19 December 2008

Gallaher's ‘Silk Cut Squares' Cash & Carry kiosk tour for independent and convenience retailers concluded this Monday (15th December), as the lucky overall winner walked away from the Grand Final event in Central London £10,000 richer.

Silk Cut Squares commenced in November 2008 and incorporated a kiosk touring tobacco rooms across the UK and visited over 40 cash & carries throughout the month, giving retailers who purchased an outer of Silk Cut the chance to win a prize when matching two squares on the kiosk's screen.

A total of £80,000 in prizes was available, including Sony TVs, Digital Cameras and MP3 players, together with 20 tickets to the Grand Final.

A further three Grand Final places were also on offer through delivered wholesalers.

Each retailer who purchased 5 or more outers of Silk Cut was automatically entered into the draw and then selected at random.

The 23 winning retailers from across the UK gathered at the Millbank Tower in Westminster where they each got to pick a ‘square' on the impressive Silk Cut Squares Grand Final game board.

Behind each square was a guaranteed minimum of £500 in cash and one of the three tickets to enter the final and the all important ‘£10,000 playoff'.

The £10,000 star prize playoff was contested by retailers Thakor Patel of Alfs Newsagents in Benfleet, Balbir Singh Dhesi of Costcutter in Basingstoke and Arvind Patel of Nagshead Newsagents in Islington, London, with Mr Arvind Patel eventually scooping the top prize of £10,000.

Mr Thakor Patel and Mr Dhesi also received a further £1,000 to add to the £500 they won in the first part of the game.

Commenting on his win, Mr Patel said; "It's absolutely amazing! I didn't think I stood a chance when I initially played the Silk Cut Squares game at my local cash & carry in Leyton. £10,000 is a lot of money in anyone's book, and I plan to put it to good use, including a nice holiday for myself and my wife next year. Many thanks Gallaher!"

Jeremy Blackburn, Gallaher's Head of Communications, commented; "It is one of the UK's best selling cigarette brands, with an overall market share of 5.2% AC Nielsen, August 2008, and offers excellent profit margins for retailers."

"The Squares campaign proved to be truly deserving of the Silk Cut name, really capturing retailers' imaginations, and it came to a fitting conclusion with today's exciting and dramatic Grand Final. Gallaher would like to congratulate all of the 23 finalists, and in particular Mr Patel, who is a worthy winner."

Source: Gallaher