Housewares retailers across the country are celebrating after being proclaimed winners at this week’s Britain’s Best Retailer Awards 2008 event.

Hundreds of representatives of the housewares and home improvement industries packed into the Hilton Manchester Deansgate to enjoy the retail event of the year – a sumptuous dinner, entertainment from top comedian Rhod Gilbert and the presentation of awards to the country’s top retail businesses.
In the Britain’s Best Independent Department Store category Leekes and Lytham-based Stringers took Silver awards, while Newbury department store Camp Hopson walked away with Gold.
Epsom’s Cook in Thyme and Newark’s SAS Trade & DIY Centre were the Silver winners in the Britain’s Best New Retail Business category, with the Gold accolade going to Kate’s Cookshop of Melton Mowbray.
And Kate’s Cookshop triumphed again in the Britain’s Best Cookshop category, being awarded Gold. Silver winners here were The Cookery Emporium at the Denby Pottery Company, Cooks & Kitchens of Darlington, Cheltenham Kitchener and Loose’s Cookshop/Soleso of Norwich.
Lakeland walked away with the Gold award for having Britain’s Best Retail Website, while Silver accolades in the category went to homebase.co.uk, amazon.co.uk and wyevale.co.uk.
Lakeland was rewarded in the Britain’s Best Multiple Housewares Retailer category as well. It took Silver here, as did independent chain Kitchenmonger, while the Gold award was presented to Wilkinsons.
Britain’s Best Retailer Awards are organised by HousewaresLive.net and Housewares Magazine and sister media Hardware & Garden Review, DIY Week and diyweek.net.
Sponsors of Britain’s Best Retailer Awards 2008 were Amefa, Creative Tops, Wade, Jura, Cuprinol, Polycell, Fair and Square, Hammerite, Sunflex, Stax, Irwin, Swish, Harrison Drape, Dulux, Decco and Sterling.
For more information on the awards, and to see the photographs, visit www.diyweek.net/bbra.