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Consumer watchdog Which? named its best brands of the year at the tenth annual Which? Awards, held at a ceremony in London last Wednesday (May 25).
The 10th Which? Awards ceremony was co-hosted by TV presenter, Natasha Kaplinsky and Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith.
The Which? Awards recognise businesses that have achieved positive change and deliver excellent products and services that score highly in Which?’s research and testing. Which? awards businesses across a wide range of sectors from cars to retailers, banks to home appliances and local businesses. The Awards are completely independent and businesses can’t put themselves forward to win.
The hotly contested ‘Retailer of the Year 2016’ category saw Toolstation beat John Lewis, AO.com, and Liz Earle to the top spot. In addition to a positive customer experience, the retailer was commended for working collaboratively with Which? to improve its terms and conditions, making them more consumer-friendly.
Toolstation and shortlisted John Lewis also jointly topped Which?’s 2016 annual top shops survey of 100 retailers. One of the nation’s biggest shopping surveys, 10,000 people were asked for their views of the UK’s shops. Bodycare, Lush and Richer Sounds all bagged third place jointly
Waitrose won the battle of the supermarkets and was crowned ‘Which? Supermarket of the Year 2016’, competing against shortlisters Aldi, Iceland, Marks & Spencer and Ocado.
Which? Home Appliance Brand of the Year 2016 was awarded to German domestic appliance manufacturer Miele for the second consecutive year. It beat finalists John Lewis; New World; Samsung and Sebo.
Tech giant Samsung was awarded a special Which? Awards 10th Anniversary Award for consistently performing well in Which?’s research and testing, and focusing on making its products better for consumers. It was also the only brand to be shortlisted for both ‘sound and vision’ and ‘home appliance’ categories this year.
Which? Chief Executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “Over the last decade we have shortlisted 370 companies and crowned 120 Which?Award winners.
“Since the Which? Awards launched we have seen a consumer revolution, with rapid change in consumer behaviour and expectations transforming the way businesses interact with their customers. A Which? Award is evidence that these businesses are engaging consumers with what they do and delivering products and services of the highest quality.”
Which? Awards 2016 Winners:
- Which? Banking Brand of the Year 2016: First Direct
- Which? Insurance Provider of the Year 2016: NFU Mutual
- Which? Supermarket of Year 2016: Waitrose
- Which? Computing & Mobile Brand of the Year 2016: Google
- Which? Sound & Vision Brand of the Year 2016: Samsung
- Which? Home Appliance Brand of the Year 2016: Miele
- Which? Telecom Services Provider of the Year 2016: Zen Internet
- Which? Retailer of the Year 2016: Toolstation
- Which? Travel Brand of the Year 2016: Premier Inn
- Which? Trusted Trader of the Year 2016: Electricians in Reading Ltd
- Which? Awards 10th Anniversary Award: Samsung
- Which? Positive Change Award 2016: CML
