The CHPTA is pleased to be the Canadian Sponsor of the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program recognizing overall excellence, business innovation and creative merchandising in home and housewares retailing.
What is gia?
The IHA’s gia Awards is a national and global awards program whose objective is to honour innovative business practices and excellence in home and housewares retailing and visual merchandising around the globe. Established in 2000, the global program is sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA) and The Inspired Home Show. Leading housewares associations and publications from around the world are national gia awards co-sponsors.
Eligible retailers and gia awards categories
Different types of retailers selling home and housewares may participate in the IHA’s gia Awards competition:
- Independent Specialty Homegoods Retailers
- Department Stores/Specialty Chain Stores/Mass Market Stores
- Internet/Online Retailers (without a physical storefront; a prior authorization by IHA required)
There are no separate categories for different types of retailers, but all participating companies compete for the same gia Global Honoree awards. One winner per trade association/publication sponsor unless the association or publication is authorized by the IHA to select more than one winner.
In addition to the general gia awards, the national gia winners have a chance to compete for the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising and for the gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing (the online award depending on the total number of eligible applicants).
Judging
- IHA provides Evaluation Forms for candidates and shares best practices of successful selection processes used by other national sponsors. Each association or publication independently chooses its national winner.
- IHA appoints the Global Jury for selecting the Global Honorees. The Global Jury consists of global retail/merchandising experts and a rotating number of co-sponsoring associations/publications.
Base Criteria – gia Awards
- Overall mission statement, vision and strategy
- Store design and layout
- Visual merchandising, displays and window displays
- Marketing, advertising and promotions
- Customer service and staff training
- Innovation
National Winner Benefits
- Recognition as a retail leader among peers in home country
- High visibility at The Inspired Home Show (Chicago)
o A special gia winners’ display in the main Show area
o Large gia winner banners in the walkway between the Lakeside Center and Grand Concourse of McCormick Place
o A presentation at the gia dinner
o Store introduction on IHA’s website
o In gia printed materials, such as gia fliers, magazine sponsor gia ads, etc. - Access gia expert jurors’ know-how (Chicago)
- Networking with other gia winners – chance to find new business partners, get new ideas, benchmark performance, etc.
- Extensive publicity in home country – depending on winners’ pro-active promotions
- Opportunity to conduct customer/press events
- Boost employee morale and productivity
- Enlarged customer base (depending on winners’ promotions) and potential sales increases
o Right to use the gia logo, photos and information in marketing and in-store promotions, etc.
o Access to other gia-related materials (poster, banner, etc.) that can be used for promotional purposes - Leverage reputation with banks and other institutions
Nominations
Nominations for the prestigious gia (Canada) for 2022-2023 are now being accepted. To be considered for this award or to be nominate a retailer, please contact:
Michael Jorgenson
Marketing & Communications Manager
Canadian Home Products Trade Association (CHPTA)
1335 Morningside Ave., Suite 101, Scarborough, Ontario M1B 5M4
(416) 282-0022 ext.134, mjorgenson@chpta.ca
Further Information
The CHPTA is the exclusive gia sponsor in Canada. The IHA Global Innovation Awards program honours home and housewares retail excellence in over 30 countries around the world. The global sponsor is The Inspired Home Show, which honours gia winners each year in March in Chicago.
Click here to find out more information about the gia program.
