2023 Global Innovation Award Winners Named

Excellence in housewares retailing is an important focus at The Inspired Home Show 2023 in Chicago next month as the world’s most innovative and creative home and housewares retailers are honored at the annual IHA 2023 Global Innovation Awards (gia) program.

The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), the global sponsors and organizers of the gia program, have announced the national gia winners for 2022-2023: 27 outstanding home and housewares retailers from 26 countries around the globe, including winners from totally new gia countries Azerbaijan and Kenya. View the national winners here.

The gia program was created by IHA and The Inspired Home Show to foster innovation and excellence in home and housewares retailing throughout the world. Since the launch of gia in 2000, there have been more than 500 gia retail award winners, from over 50 countries on six continents.

The 2022-2023 national gia winners are:

Argentina: Tiendas Landmark, tiendaslandmark.com.ar
Australia: Minimax, minimax.com.au
Austria: Cuisinarum, cuisinarum.at
Azerbaijan: Royal Home
Belgium: Hopono, hopono-shop.com
Brazil: deezign, deezign.com.br
Canada: Cookery, cookery-store.ca
Colombia: Ambiente Living, ambienteliving.com
Denmark: KJEPS Bolighus, kjeps.dk
France: TOC, toc.fr
Germany: Pecht Shoppingwelt, pecht.de
India: Home Centre, homecentre.in
Ireland: Jono’s House & Home 
Italy: Arte & Forma, arte-forma.it
Japan: JR NAGOYA TAKASHIMAYA, jr-takashimaya.co.jp
Kenya: Vituzote.com Kenya, vituzote.com
Netherlands: Vanderveen’s Department Store – Assen, vanderveen.nl
Norway: Illums Bolighus, illumsbolighus.no
Poland: Eurofirany, eurofirany.com.pl
Portugal: El Corte Ingles, elcorteingles.pt
Spain: El Corte Ingles, elcorteingles.es
Switzerland: Vanoli AG, vanoli.com
Turkey: KORKMAZ, korkmaz.com.tr
United Kingdom: Morleys Group, elyswimbledon.co.uk
Uruguay: LA IBERICA, laiberica.com.uy
USA 
– Giftware Retailers: A. Dodson’s, adodsons.com
– Housewares Retailers: Faraday’s Kitchen Store, faradayskitchenstore.com

The gia competition is structured on a two-tier level, national and global, to honor independent and multiple location home and housewares retailers for excellence in several business categories:

• Overall mission statement, vision and strategy
• Store design and layout
• Visual merchandising, displays and window displays
• Marketing, advertising and promotions
• Customer service and staff training
• Innovation

Each national gia winner is invited to The Inspired Home Show in Chicago, where the global gia jury, consisting of three experts representing Asia, Europe and the Americas, plus a rotating group of co-sponsoring trade publication editors from around the world, will select up to five gia Global Honorees and the winners of the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising and the gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing. 

On Saturday, March 4, the national winners will be honored at a festive awards dinner where the gia Global Honorees and winners of the Martin M. Pegler and gia Digital Commerce Award will be announced. In addition, the national winners are featured at the Show, with banners and a special display in the Grand Concourse Walkway at McCormick Place.

gia is more than an awards program. Representing retailing excellence around the world, it is part of a larger education initiative that includes seminars by retail experts, columns in international housewares publications and educational sessions at events in sponsors’ home countries. As part of gia’s educational offering, on Monday, March 6, three of the gia expert jurors will present a special session in the Show’s Innovation Theater:

• New Opportunities to Connect with Customers. Retail is not dead…mediocre retail is dead. How to create successful customer experiences. Customers have NOT cancelled retail. What customers are looking for today. The gia expert jurors Wolfgang Gruschwitz, Scott Kohno and Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen report from their experiences and share new ideas around the world of retail concepts.

The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s global home + housewares marketplace, will be held March 4-7 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex. For more information about the 2023 Show, and to register for a Show badge, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.

For more information about the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program, the co-sponsors or participating in 2023-2024, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta.torro@inspiredconnection.fi. Additional information on the gia program is also available online at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/Awards/gia-Retailing.

For a preview of The Inspired Home Show, read the March issue of Kitchenware News & Housewares Review. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!