CHICAGO (March 3, 2013) – The International Home + Housewares Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), the global sponsors and organizers of the Global Innovation Award (gia) program, today announced the five 2013 gia Global Honorees. The gia Global Honorees are:
- Linen Chest Canada
- Quality Living Italy
- Kookpunt The Netherlands
- Taylor Road Homewares New Zealand
- Cooks of Crocus Hill United States
The global gia jury, consisting of four retail/visual merchandising experts and seven editors and publishers of co-sponsoring housewares trade publications from around the world, selected the five gia Global Honorees from the winners previously chosen in their respective countries by the national gia sponsors. In addition, the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising was awarded to Quality Living of Italy.
In addition to honoring the 2012-2013 national gia winners and Global Honorees, a very special honorary gia award was presented to India’s TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India). TRRAIN is an organization that works toward improving the lives of people in retail through various initiatives. The IHA and gia are honoring TRRAIN with the award for their vision of empowering people in Indian retail.
gia was created in 1999, with the objective of fostering innovation and excellence in housewares retailing throughout the world. Today, gia is the most recognized, high-profile awards program for homegoods retailers around the globe. The competition is structured on a two-tier level, national and global, evaluating retailers within the following categories:
- Overall mission statement and strategy
- Store design and layout
- Visual merchandising, displays and window displays
- Marketing, advertising and promotions
- Customer service and staff training
- Innovation
Co-sponsoring the country-specific gia award programs with IHA are housewares trade publications worldwide, which sponsor national gia programs in their respective countries. This year, 23 national gia winners from 22 countries were selected by co-sponsoring trade publications with targeted distribution in over 30 countries on five continents. All winners were automatically entered the global competition at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago, where the global jury selected the final gia Global Honorees.
Both gia national winners and Global Honorees are recognized and prominently featured at the International Home + Housewares Show. A festive gia awards dinner was held at The Four Seasons Hotel. In addition, introducing the national gia winners to visitors and exhibitors of the International Home + Housewares Show, there is a special gia display in the Hall of Global Innovation, in the Lakeside Center Lobby, and large gia winner banners span the walkway connecting the Lakeside Center to the Grand Concourse.
For more information about the gia awards program, the co-sponsors, or participating in 2013-2014, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta.torro@inspiredconnection.fi. Additional information on the gia program is also available online at www.housewares.org/gia.
Editor’s note: Images of the 2012-2013 gia National Winners and 2013 Global Honorees and the Martin M. Pegler Award winner are available for download at:
