gia

2018 Global Honoree – Harrods

By Michelle Hespe Harrods needs no introduction, however, many people might not realize how progressive and innovative Harrods Home has become in recent years. No words are minced when it comes to the mission statement of Harrods. The iconic store’s goal is “to be the number one department store in the world for luxury branded merchandise, maintaining an unprecedented…

2018 gia Global Honoree – The Chopping Block

by Michelle Hespe We catch up with Shelley Young, Founder and CEO of one of the five 2018 gia Global Honorees, The Chopping Block of the USA. There are three major components to The Chopping Block, and although they sit under the same umbrella, they are like three separate businesses. There’s the cooking classes, private events and the retail sector. However, make no…

2018 gia Global Honoree – Manufactum

by Michelle Hespe At the 2018 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago, German retailer Manufactum was announced as one of the top five most innovative stores in the world. Here we take a look at what makes this retail store so great, and so grounded. In today’s technology-driven world, where so much of life is lived online, and there’s a distinct lack of human…

Eight Companies Honored with Global Innovation Awards for Booth Excellence

Eight International Home + Housewares Show exhibitors were honored with Global Innovation Awards (gia) for Booth Excellence on Monday, March 12, with two companies named Global Honoree. Two finalists were selected in each Show expo, one each for large and small booths. The winners were announced during special presentations at the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show at…

2018 Gia Global Honorees for Retail Excellence Announced at International Home + Housewares Show

The International Home + Housewares Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), the global sponsors and organizers of the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program, today announced the 2018 gia Global Honorees for Retail Excellence. The Global Honorees are: Tugó - Colombia Manufactum - Germany Pollmann sinds 1890 - Netherlands Harrods - United…

IHA Announces Finalists for Global Innovation Awards (gia) for Product Design

The 65 finalists in the IHA Global Innovations Awards (gia) for product design have been announced by the International Housewares Association (IHA). Global honorees in each of 13 categories will be announced in during the invitation-only gia dinner Saturday, March 10. The finalists and global honorees will be on display in the Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center…

gia – Celebration of Retail Excellence and Innovation

Every March in Chicago, the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) are hosted by the International Housewares Association. The gia awards, “the Oscars® of the housewares industry”, bring together the world’s most innovative retailers, all having been voted as the best in their country. The IHA Global Innovation Awards program was created to celebrate excellence and innovation in…

Generations of Inspiration

Michelle Hespe speaks to Patricia Lockhart, owner and director of Uruguay’s award-winning retail store, Bazar La Iberica and its focus on generations of inspiration. Achieving 100 years in business is something worth talking about. But Bazar La Iberica, a family-run retailer operating in a country with only 3 million inhabitants (half of which live on very low income) has…

Recycling and Display Props

By Martin M. Pegler Props, I would imagine, is short for “properties” and “properties” can be anything that adds something to a scene, a setting, a display. If we were to look around us, we would see we are standing in the center of a field of display props: from the furniture in the room, the plants, the unused rolls of wallpaper, the tableware, the collection of pots and…