Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Housewares Magazine and its digital partner www.HousewaresLive.net are delighted to be working with Spring Fair to bring the Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 to Birmingham on Monday February 8.
Publishing and event director Hannah Dedman said: “By separating our Innovation Awards from our Housewares Conference, we’re now in a position to enhance the format and meet the needs of the wider industry. Spring Fair is the perfect fit for us and we’re looking forward to introducing an Awards programme there on the Monday night, for the first time.”
There are three categories in the Awards 2016 programme: retail, product and general. The retail categories are: Britain’s Best Rising Star Award , Britain’s Best Housewares Retail Website Award, Britain’s Best Cookshop Award, Britain’s Best Independent Department Store Award and Britain’s Best Multiple Housewares Retailer Award – plus three new categories: Britain’s Best Garden Centre Award, Britain’s Best Supermarket Award and Britain’s Best Wholesaler Award.
The product categories are: Kitchenware Innovation Award, Tabletop Innovation Award, Bakeware Innovation Award, Cookware Innovation Award, Small Electricals Innovation Award and Food Preparation Innovation Award.
The general award categories are: Britain’s Best Housewares Salesperson Award, Kitchen Hero Award and a new category: the Service Award.
Feedback from the industry on the news of the relocation and revised date has been excellent. Housewares retailer Lakeland is sponsoring both the Cookware Innovation Award and the Bakeware Innovation Award and the chain’s buying director Matthew Canwell said: “We’re always delighted to support awards that reward innovation, as that’s the lifeblood of our industry. Encouraging inventiveness and investment in good design is critical to our success. And what better time of year to hold the awards than at Spring Fair, when suppliers are bringing their new ideas to the fore?”
Will Jones, home enhancement sector director of BHETA which is sponsoring the Britain’s Best Salesperson Award, said: “It’s the practical potential of the Housewares Awards for retail engagement – something which BHETA pioneers very successfully – which makes this new alignment with Spring Fair so appealing and exciting.”
Housewares supplier Horwood has signed up to sponsor the Britain’s Best Cookshop Award and marketing manager James Robinson said: “Spring Fair is the number one UK location where all leading suppliers and buyers convene. With our lives becoming increasingly demanding, there is a pressure on available time. So uniting the two events will lead to increased attendance and reduce costs – while a night off from [one’s] hotel’s restaurant is always a welcome change!”
Another housewares supplier, Grunwerg, is sponsoring the Britain’s Best Independent Department Store Award. Sales manager Tom Basford said: “We’re delighted to be sponsoring this category. It’s great to support such a prestigious awards event that highlights the excellence of product innovation and celebrates the success and hard work of the people and businesses in the housewares industry.”
Creative Media Solutions, which will be filming the awards ceremony, has joined as a media partner. Sales director Mark Boddy said: ‘We’re excited to be the media partner to the Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 in its new format and location. This prestigious event is always a key date in our calendar and we’re delighted to show our commitment to the industry and the organiser, Datateam Business Media, by supporting the event.’
Kitchen Craft, a first time sponsor of the Housewares Innovation Awards, is sponsoring the Britain’s Best Garden Centre Award. Marketing controller Claire Budgen said: “We appreciate the importance of our industry and are delighted to be supporting the new Housewares Innovation Awards format, recognising and rewarding the immense creativity and talent being contributed. We believe that as the sponsor of the garden centre category, the awards will acknowledge the unique way homewares is evolving in this new distribution channel.”
Independent wholesaler EFG Housewares is also sponsoring the event for the first time, choosing to put its name to the new Service Award. The company’s Daniel Irving said: “We’re really pleased to be involved in the Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 as we feel that for the first time they are relevant to our business. Some truly hard-working companies will be rewarded for their contribution to our industry.”
The Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 has a brand new ‘apron’ logo, which will come to life at Spring Fair. Sponsored by ICTC, the supplier will present exhibiting finalists with a ‘real life’ apron to wear or display on their stands, creating maximum visibility for the brand. TV chef (and Housewares Magazine columnist) Malcolm Harradine will also be on the Housewares Innovation Awards stand throughout the Fair, demonstrating finalists’ products.
In addition, the award trophies have been redesigned by sponsor T&G Woodware. Managing director Patrick Gardner said: “Winning awards is very inspiring to those who win and is an encouragement to improve their efforts. It also inspires others to ‘go for gold’. T&G is honoured and delighted to be sponsoring this presentation. Wood, man’s oldest resource, provides the background to the awards’ statements, given to those companies that have successfully strived for the best.”
We also have a number of other sponsors joining us, including bira (British Independent Retailers Association), IHA (International Housewares Association), JWP, Magimix and of course, Spring Fair itself.
The Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 are now open for entries.
Visit the Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 website at housewaresinnovationawards.com for more information and to enter.
