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Down the Aisles: Hudson’s Bay

For most Canadians, Hudson’s Bay Company is a name that has been a part of their lives for as long as they can remember. The company, which is Canada’s longest continually running department store, was established in 1670. Since that day two and a half centuries ago, it has continued to expand and fine tune its innovative operations, firmly establishing itself as a brand that…

Out of the Ordinary: Koskela

Michelle Hespe meets the innovative owners of Koskela – one of five inspiring retail stores that became 2015 Global Honorees in the prestigious IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago. There’s a great quote by American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker John Rohn that captures the essence of what Australian retail duo Sasha Titchkosky and Russel Koskela set…

Soul Determination: Presentes Rodriguez

Presentes Rodriguez from Brazil was one of five retail stores in the world to become a Global Honoree at the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago. Michelle Hespe looks into what makes this South American business so exceptional. So what was said about Presentes Rodriguez? The gia jury thought the Brazilian homewares store really stood out from the rest of the…

Power to the People: John Lewis

Michelle Hespe checks out one of five global honorees from the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) and discovers the very clever concept behind the United Kingdom’s John Lewis department store chain. Imagine if there was a department store at which the customers made the business decisions? Where the people from the street created and guided the retail philosophy to…

Culinary Crusader: Jumbo

Michelle Hespe catches up with the manager of Jumbo — a Turkish retail chain specializing in kitchenware and cookware that was chosen as one of five Global Honorees at the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia). Function has always been crucial when it comes to cookware and dinnerware, but today, form and function are more tightly entwined than ever, with products designed to…

Retail Design Trends of 2015

What are the current and emerging trends in retail design and what should you watch out for to ensure that you are ahead of the game? After all, one thing will never change, to be a top retailer you have to remain top of people’s minds, and that means continually offering a refreshing and exciting retail experience that is unique and arresting. Wolfgang Gruschwitz is a man…

gia Global Innovation Awards 2014 – Retailers on Top of the World

Every year, the International Housewares Association (IHA) welcomes retailers deemed the best in their home country to Chicago, where they compete on a global stage in the IHA Global Innovation Awards 2014 (gia) program. This year, there were 23 national gia winners from 22 countries, all representing the very top of home and housewares retailing. The gia Global Innovation…

Introducing the 2014 gia Global Honorees

This year’s IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) awards had such a wonderful group of winners and the panel of editor judges and expert jurors found it so difficult to choose just five top retail stores from the 23 regional 2014 gia global honorees that they had to choose six instead. The six top stores declared 2014 gia Global Honorees were: TheSuperCool from Australia, K…

Parisian Chic: Merci

Michelle Hespe speaks to Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria, Executive Vice President of Merci in Paris. The impressive retail store was one of six Global Honorees at the 2014 gia Global Innovation Awards in Chicago, held during the International Home + Housewares Show. Since 2009, fashion, design and food lovers have been drawn to a store that has smoothly forged ahead in an area of…

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