The winners of the Excellence in Housewares Awards 2022 continue to share their joy on winning one of the industry’s top accolades, which were announced at the glittering awards night on October 6.
Having won Best Supermarket Retailer of Housewares, Tesco’s Ally Rose, category director for Home & Seasonal said: “We are delighted to have won Best Supermarket Retailer of Housewares. We know that these are challenging times for customers everywhere – and as we look to support them in every way we can, we are proud to be recognised for our commitment to provide great value and quality home products for our customers.”
At Bents Garden & Home, the Best Garden Centre Retailer of Housewares winner, Matthew Bent, managing director enthused: “We were delighted when we heard the news of our award. Housewares is an increasingly competitive market so it’s important to stand out, not only in terms of products but in relation to service and customer experience. This award is a fantastic recognition of our team’s hard work and dedication to making our dedicated Cook Shop another popular department here at Bents.”
Caroline Aldridge, the Retail Employee of the Year was overjoyed: “‘I am so pleased to have finally won this award after being nominated previously. I am just so proud and a little lost for words!”
Natalie Graham, marketing manager at Garsons of Esher and Titchfield commented after winning the Excellence in Retailer Initiative: “We were delighted to be announced as a finalist for the recognition of Garsons 150 Year celebratory campaign, which we were extremely proud of delivering, especially during such an unprecedented time. When we heard our name announced on the evening we were over the moon – the perfect finale to end the campaign on such a high. Thank you to The Excellence in Housewares award team for presenting a brilliant evening.”
At Lakeland – the Best Multiple or Small Group Retailer of the Year winner – Scott Jefferson, chief commercial officer reflected: “We are so delighted to be awarded the accolade of Multiple Retailer of The Year. Our commitment to extraordinary service and innovation is central to all that we do, and it is lovely for our dedicated colleagues to be recognised in this way. That it has come from our industry peers makes it extra special.”
With two trophies, Harrods buyer Margaret Osei-Bonsu expressed her thoughts on winning Excellence in Retail Display – Multiple or Department Store: “Such amazing news and truly honoured to win this award. At Harrods we always strive to create retail theatre and leave a lasting impression on our customers. By bringing inspiration to the shopping experience, we feel is our strength and this award means a lot to us!”
Continuing, Margaret admitted after winning Best Department Store – Independent: “We were shocked and pleasantly surprised to win two awards that evening! Extremely grateful to win against such incredible department stores. It was an honour to be included in this category and an even bigger achievement to win.”
For the product awards, Louise Llewellyn, head of marketing for T&G stated: “We are delighted to have won the Cutting Edge Award at the Excellence in Housewares Awards. It has always been T&G’s mission to design, produce and responsibly source, exceptional quality kitchenware products that withstand the demands of real life and to be recognised for our Oak Chateau Boards is truly an honour.”
At Le Creuset, Marianna Spiliotopoulos, marketing manager said after scooping the Excellence in Cookware trophy: “We are thrilled to win the Excellence in Cookware award with our new Bamboo range! It’s our biggest launch of the year and to receive this award after tremendous team work to bring it to market means a lot to us. Innovation and colour are the lifeblood of our brand, and we are thankful to be recognised for it by our customers who got behind this launch in a big way. Bamboo has become one of our bestselling colours as consumers absolutely love this trendy range with timeless appeal.”
Marianna continued, reflecting on Le Creuset’s Excellence in Marketing: “This award is near and dear to our hearts having won it numerous times in the past. We were over the moon to win it again this year and are honoured for this recognition! There is a huge team effort at Le Creuset behind the creativity, content, consumer experience and point of sale we develop. Our aim is to support everything we do with marketing communications and share this with our customers, to ultimately support each other in driving sales and consumer affection.”
Captivate Brands’ md Kevin McKay paid tribute to his team after winning the company’s first EIH award: “We were up for four awards on the night and that in itself was a brilliant achievement for the Captivate team. To actually win the Licencing Award for the Eleanor Bowmer license was just the icing on the cake for me. When you consider Captivate Brands is the new kid on the block and just starting to get the recognition it deserves, it makes it even more special. I am genuinely so happy for the team, and I could not be prouder of them; each and every one of them are so dedicated to making the business the success it is today. This award is truly a team effort and I’m sure it’s the start of many more awards to come. Well done team Captivate!”
Kevin added: “I would also like to say a massive thank you to the numerous customers who have sent their congratulations over the past week or so. Your support is very much appreciated and will never be taken for granted, thank you!”
Hayley Baddiley, global marketing director for Denby was also among the enthusiastic winners, commenting: “We’re thrilled to have won the Excellence in Housewares Eco Award 2022 for our Studio Blue Accent collection! Since Denby was established in 1809, we have used locally sourced clay to handcraft our ceramics. We have zero to landfill on our process waste, recycle over 100,000 litres of glaze during the glazing process every year and have our own water treatment plant to efficiently re-use our resources so we definitely ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to environmental practice. These are just a few of the conscious actions we undertake and of course we’re always looking at new ways to improve further.”
With the trophy for the prestigious Innovation Award, Simon Maghnagi, commercial director, Forma House acknowledged: “This was truly an amazing moment to win 22 years on from our last win, so we are very proud as team. We love being part of the Dreamfarm family and I am so happy their products are finally getting the admiration they deserve. They are a bunch of clever folks at Dreamfarm. Big thank you to everyone who has supported us and the brand. The Forma House team has worked so hard to push the brands; they deserve this moment too.”
All the winners of the EIH Awards 2022 will be featured in the next issue of Progressive Housewares.
Top: Ultimate Products’ Jenny Stewart presented the Best Supermarket trophy to Tesco’s Matt Toussaint at the EIH Awards 2022.
