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
The Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 is set to be our most prestigious event to date. Designed to honour our most innovative housewares products and retailers, the evening awards ceremony will be held at The Vox Conference Centre, located within Resorts World Birmingham at the NEC, on Monday February 8 – during the Spring Fair.
The Vox is a first-class banqueting facility which comes as part of a unique and exciting £150m new development. Resorts World Birmingham is the UK’s first integrated leisure and entertainment resort, part of a worldwide family of resorts in locations from Singapore and Manila to New York and Las Vegas.
There are three categories in the Awards 2016 programme: retail, product and general. The retail categories are: Britain’s Best Rising Star, Housewares Retail Website, Cookshop, Independent Department Store, Multiple Housewares Retailer – and two new categories: Britain’s Best Garden Centre Award and Britain’s Best Supermarket.
The product categories are: Kitchenware, Tabletop, Bakeware, Cookware, Small Electricals and Food Preparation.
The general award categories are: Britain’s Best Housewares Salesperson, the Kitchen Hero and two new categories: the Service Award and Wholesaler Award.
Feedback from the industry regarding the news of the ceremony’s new location has been excellent. Housewares retailer Lakeland is sponsoring both the cookware and bakeware awards. 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 salesperson award, said: “It’s the practical potential of the Housewares Awards for retail engagement – something which BHETA pioneers very successfully – that makes their new alignment with Spring Fair so appealing and exciting.”
Housewares supplier Horwood has signed up to sponsor the cookshop award and marketing manager James Robinson said: “Spring Fair is the number one UK location where all leading suppliers and buyers will 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 the hotel restaurant is always a welcome change!”
Another housewares supplier, Grunwerg, is sponsoring the 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 us 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 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 housewares 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.”
We also have a number of other sponsors joining us, including bira (British Independent Retailers Association), IHA, JWP, PR Direct, Magimix, Villeroy & Boch and, of course, Spring Fair itself.
The Housewares Innovation Awards 2016 has a brand new ‘apron’ logo, which will come to life at Spring Fair. Sponsored by ICTC, the company will present exhibiting finalists with a ‘real life’ apron to wear or hang on display at their stands, creating maximum visibility for the brand. TV chef Malcolm Harradine will be at the Housewares Innovation Awards stand throughout the Fair, demonstrating finalists’ products for all to see.
Sponsored by T&G Woodware, even the trophies have been redesigned. 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.”
The Housewares Innovation Awards is now open for entries. Visit our website at www.housewaresinnovationawards.com for more information and to download an entry form. The closing date is September 21.
