In Chicago last March, five stores from around the world were voted as the most innovative, outstanding retailers on the planet and mentioned as 2015 gia Global Honorees. We check out what makes them so unique and outstanding.
The top five stores declared gia Global Honorees in 2015 were: Koskela from Australia, Presentes Rodriquez from Brazil, Hudson’s Bay from Canada, Jumbo from Turkey and John Lewis from the UK.
In addition, Organizza from Argentina won the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising.
Australia
“Imaginative displays and effective use of the impressive premises,” “Innovative practices, including a brand-fitting in-store café” and “Strong social responsibility programs,” were just some of the many comments from the gia expert jurors about the Australian Global Honoree.
Koskela is much more than a retail store. Launched in 2000 as a design company creating innovative furniture for offices, it has since evolved into a well-loved brand that has a design store showcasing the outstanding work of up-and-coming designers, while championing social enterprise, sustainability and the well-being of workers behind the scenes making products. Koskela also works toward empowering Australian Aboriginal artists through artistic collaborations that are making a difference to the communities from which they come. The brand is all about making a difference in the world.
The physical Koskela store, which is housed in a 2000 m2 warehouse in Sydney, is also a funky canteen-style café called Kitchen by Mike (serving up food with a focus on fresh seasonal produce), a space for creative workshops (think tapestry, painting and creating your own designer piece) and an inspiring gallery always brimming with unusual, thought-provoking pieces.
The community that the two owners have built around their creative concept not only makes Koskela a destination store, but also nurtures the interests and talents of the many people that the store attracts. Koskela has become a creative playground that is not only selling products, but is also taking care of the people who create them, and doing its bit to help the environment, wildlife and people, by always considering where the products stocked come from, how they are made and what impact they will have on the future of the planet.
2015 gia Global Honorees: Koskela
To learn more about Koskela, visit www.koskela.com.au or see the Koskela gia blog.
Brazil
The gia jury thought the outstanding things the Brazilian Global Honoree, Presentes Rodriguez in Santa Andre, brings to the table are its “impressive architecture and great use of space,” “effective branding” and “well-integrated technology using a cloud-system.”
Two young, entrepreneurial brothers with a passion for home building and technology and how it can be utilized in business to make a shoppers’ experience more enjoyable are behind Presentes Rodriguez. The business aims to “realize the dream of consumers by providing the best buying experience.”
Specializing in home supplies, wedding gift lists and home décor, the store offers exclusive product lines from across the world while also striving to create a cozy, homey environment for shoppers. Spread over 1000 m2, the store attracts 60 percent of its buyers to the physical store, and 40 percent to its virtual equivalent. This is not surprising, considering the technology that the brothers are using also makes management of the business more streamlined and the staff more effective.
For instance, the store’s internal management systems work with two interconnected administrative systems that are in the ‘cloud,’ allowing executives to access and perform any operation remotely from any place and at any time. It not only facilitates access, control and management but also increases efficiency for reduced operational costs and hardware investments. Greater efficiency is also generated in terms of distribution operations, as the clever, timesaving technology enables a unified control of the physical store, virtual store and distribution center – from anywhere.
2015 gia Global Honorees: Presentes Rodriquez
To learn more about Presentes Rodriquez, visit www.presentesrodriguez.com.br or see the Presentes Rodriquez gia blog.
Canada
“Beautiful visual merchandising” and “attention-catching signage” are two of the many things that the gia jury loved about this stylish Canadian haven to include them as one of the 2015 gia Global Honorees.
Founded in 1670, Hudson’s Bay Company has had over three centuries to evolve into the department store that it is. The Canadian arm of the business has become Canada’s most prominent department store, with 92 locations and is the country’s oldest department store chain.
The gia winner this year is a specialized offshoot of the main company called Home on Seven, and opened its doors in 2014. The seventh floor of the iconic flagship Hudson’s Bay store in Toronto is now devoted to housewares, tabletop and small appliances, all anchored by a beautiful gift registry area, a Godiva chocolate shop and the spectacular new Kleinfeld Bridal Boutique. The set-up is a bride-to-be’s heaven, created to enhance the bridal experience by bringing all relevant businesses for a wedding together in one impressively coordinated and completely stylish space. The store can be explored by ‘trend zones’ and the main aisle resembles a market street with seasonal displays that entice, delight and create a memorable shopping experience. From china and housewares to small electrics, cook and bakeware, décor and gift products, it’s a one-stop dream shop, with a sumptuous chocolate shop in which to take time out and indulge the taste buds.
Hudson’s Bay is very active on social media channels but one of their most effective marketing tools is the publishing of their Home catalogues four times a year, which are both positional and sales-driven, showcasing fashion and trend perspectives of the home for each season.
2015 gia Global Honorees: Hudson’s Bay
To learn more about Hudson’s Bay, visit www.thebay.com or see the Hudson’s Bay gia blog.
Turkey
The gia expert jury and all of the judges loved Jumbo for its sense of fun, teamed with innovation, which combined, has led to excellent marketing strategies. They also loved the “great architecture and fun approach to visual merchandising.”
The store’s mission is to contribute and be a leader in dining culture by showcasing timeless designs and ergonomic, premium quality products that meet customers’ demands of being both useful and beautifully designed. The store’s products are all about form meeting function, whether it be cutlery, porcelain, glassware, cookware or accessories and gifts.
Jumbo’s approach is certainly working, as it has grown from being a small atelier founded in 1947 to an impressive organization with 19 franchises, 25 Jumbo-owned stores and (including gia) eight international awards under its belt.
As any retailer knows, great staff is integral to the success of a business and Jumbo takes its staff training very seriously, collaborating with businesses that specialize in training for the retail sector. It’s such a highly regarded place to work that the company offers a 360-degree, 3-month education program for 25 candidates selected from the 8,000 or more applicants who apply. Twelve of these candidates are then hired as Assistant Store Managers at the end of the program. Jumbo also has a 15-day orientation program for all staff, which includes training in brand and product, sales techniques, customer relations, visual merchandising, operational processes and IT systems.
2015 gia Global Honorees: Jumbo
To learn more about Jumbo, visit www.jumbo.com.tr or see the Jumbo gia blog.
UK
The judges and jury had much praise to offer the representatives from the UK’s John Lewis. The business is an unusual model for a retail store, in that John Lewis department stores are part of the John Lewis Partnership, which is employee-owned. In other words, the company is owned by a trust on behalf of its employees, who are known as Partners. This leads to exceptional focus on service and every other element of the store, as the Partners have a vested interest in wanting the business to be the best that it can be.
The jury’s feedback was that the store has “great architecture and theatrical and creative displays” as well as “thought-provoking use of ordinary products and breathtaking merchandise displays.” The judges also thought that the store has highly imaginative window displays, including a live cooking demonstration, great use of graphics, and they were especially complimentary when it came to the pop-up mini shops feature in the aisles that offer customers “unique and effective selling spaces.”
The history of John Lewis is impressive for any business, as it all began back in 1864 with the opening of the first shop in London’s Oxford Street. ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ has remained the unwavering promise to customers for 75 years, with the price of any item for sale always being as low as the lowest price in the neighborhood. Through the efforts of the Partners sourcing high quality goods and the building of loyal relationships with suppliers far and wide, John Lewis has succeeded in creating the largest department store retailer in the UK, with 43 shops – 31 department stores, 10 John Lewis at Home stores and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal. The company also continues to grow steadily online.
2015 gia Global Honorees: John Lewis
To learn more about John Lewis, visit www.johnlewis.com or see the John Lewis gia blog.
