Swedish multinational fashion chain H&M was named ‘International Retailer’ of the year, at the World Retail Awards gala dinner in Paris last night.
Fast Retailing, the Japanese retail group behind brands such as UNIQLO, Comptoir des cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam, scooped the prestigious award for ‘Retailer of the Year’. The accolade comes shortly after its announcement of UNIQLO’s plans for major expansion of its kidswear line. The group follows in the footsteps of prestigious past winners including Whole Foods and Inditex.
Two of the biggest names in UK retailing also scooped awards. John Lewis beat stiff competition to be named Omnichannel Retailer of the Year, and Sainsbury’s won the award for the best advertising campaign of the year for its ‘Christmas in a Day’.
South Korea’s department store group Lotte Shopping won CSR Initiative of the Year, following the launch of its rewards scheme to encourage customers to buy eco-friendly products.
The World Retail Awards, now in their 8th year, celebrate inspiring retail excellence. They were presented during the World Retail Congress, which is being attended by up to 1,500 delegates over three days this week in Paris.
Ian McGarrigle, Chairman of the World Retail Congress, commented: “We’ve had another fantastic shortlist of winners, and this year in particular they reflect how the retail landscape is changing. The diversity of entries and countries, and the level of innovation, reinforces the huge groundswell of change in the global retail world.”
Over 500 senior figures from the global retail industry gathered at the Salle Wagram in Paris for the awards ceremony. Key attendees at the gala dinner included Paolo de Cesare, CEO of Printemps, Ray Kelvin, CEO and Founder of Ted Baker, Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis & Jose Gomez, Senior Group Vice President of Mango, amongst many others.
The award winners are decided by a team of 12 Global CEO's. This year’s judges included: Terry Duddy, Home Retail Group; Concetta Lanciaux, Lux Advisory; Gordon Campbell, Spar International; Rick Darling, Li & Fung US; Richard Simonin, Limoni Group.
WORLD RETAIL AWARD WINNERS 2014
- INTERNATIONAL RETAILER OF THE YEAR – H&M (Sponsored by Mastercard)
- OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP OF THE YEAR – NATALIE MASSENET AND MARKE SEBBA, NET-A-PORTER (Sponsored by CT Partners)
- RETAILER OF THE YEAR – FAST RETAILING (Sponsored by IBM)
- PURE PLAY ONLINE ETAILER OF THE YEAR – VENTE-PRIVEE.COM
- GROWTH MARKET RETAILER OF THE YEAR – BREADTALK, CHINA
- RETAIL TRANSFORMATION AND REINVENTION AWARD - STARBUCKS (Sponsored by The Boston Consulting Group)
- CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR – LOTTE SHOPPING – ‘Ecomoney Project’
- BEST NEW RETAIL CONCEPT – EATALY SMERALDO (Sponsored by Altierre)
- OMNICHANNEL RETAILER OF THE YEAR – JOHN LEWIS (Sponsored by TCC)
- RETAIL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR – SAINSBURY’S – ‘Christmas in a Day’ (AMVBBDO)
- CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR – APPLIANCES ONLINE (Sponsored by JDA)
- STORE DESIGN OF THE YEAR >1200 sqm – NEW LOOK, WHITE CITY (Presented by Hepsiburada)
- STORE DESIGN OF THE YEAR <1200 sqm – VERIZON DESTINATION STORE, MALL OF AMERICA (AKQA)
Source: i2i Events Group
