Once again the best of the best in retail from around the world were vying for one of the five global awards at the gia awards in Chicago.
During a gala dinner on Saturday evening five retailers were awarded global honouree for retail excellence, including Orange-based retailer Jumbled.
Jumbled is a destination of colourful inspiration that brings the best of the city to rural Australia. This concept store brings together coffee, fashion and home, and showcases the best of Australian design. Owner Pip Brett, who attended the awards, says she was very proud and totally blown away by the win.
“I love going to work every day, so to be recognised within the industry as a leader was very special,” she says.
“The inspiration and the knowledge that I have gained on this trip have been invaluable. Retail is a very exciting space to be operating in at the moment. Winning the award on Saturday night was the icing on the cake. I was not expecting it.
“I can’t wait to get back to Australia feeling inspired, rejuvenated and with a new mindset that anything is possible. The award feels like a really lovely pat on the back that I am heading in the right direction.”
The other four winners are Bahne from Denmark, S-Kultur from Germany, Porland from Turkey and Futako Tamagawa Tsutaya Electrics from Japan. In addition, the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising was awarded to La Cuisine of the Netherlands and the gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing was awarded to 9design of Poland.
On the same night 13 housewares suppliers ranging from well-established brands to first-time exhibitors were awarded an IHA Global Innovation Award (gia) for product design.
Aussie kitchen tools design company, Dreamfarm, scooped the award in the best kitchen hand tools and cutlery category for its Ortwo pepper mill.
“Winning the gia award is a massive honour not only because it recognises excellence and innovation in design, but because it is judged by a jury of our peers,” says Dreamfarm PR and Social media manager, Cate McDermott.
“So having the recognition from not only the retail world but also the design industry is a huge feather in our caps and we couldn’t be happier.”
The gia program was created by the IHA and International Home + Housewares 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 430 gia retail award winners, from 47 countries on six continents.
By Marion Gerritsen
