Seven retail owner-operated chains have been named top of the class in their category at the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards night. This is the fourth year the research firm has held its awards, recognising those brands that resonate with consumers for the levels of satisfaction they provide.

Franchise retailer Autobarn was named Auto Store of the Year; Michel’s Patisserie won the Coffee Shop of the Year award; Dymocks scooped the Music/Book Store of the Year award; Crust Pizza was crowned Quick Service Restaurant of the Year; and taking out the top slot in the chemist/pharmacy category, Guardian.

The True Value Hardware chain of independent retailers, a Mitre 10 brand, was awarded the Hardware Store of the Year while the Sports Power network of independent retailers was named Sports Store of the Year.

The awards are based on 12 months of data from Roy Morgan’s Consumer Single Source survey, and the firm’s Business Single Source survey.