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IHA - International Housewares Association: The Home Authority
Web: www.housewares.org | Ph: 847-292-4200 | Fax: 847-292-4211
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110
Global Innovator Awards (gia) – the Academy Awards Of International Retail-- Honors Creativity And Innovation
Global Crossroads Expo Features Stylish Pavilions from Around the World
ROSEMONT, Ill. (January 2007) – Just like the celebrities at the annual Oscars, international retail honorees laugh, cry, make speeches and look resplendent – sometimes all at the same time!
Now in its seventh year, the Global Innovator Awards (gia) program has become an Academy Awards show for excited retailers who gain important recognition for their creative strategies and enticing displays. Honorees come from around the world to be honored. Past recipients have been from Argentina, Chile, Finland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States, among many other countries.
The program is sponsored by the International Housewares Association, which owns and operates the Show. Industry trade publications sponsor national gia programs in their regions.
In 2007, 23 global housewares retailers will be recognized for their excellence and merchandising savvy. Visitors to the Show can absorb the winner’s lessons at the gia Showcase, Level 3 Lobby, Lakeside Center, where visuals of the retailers’ award-winning efforts will be on display.
National winners also are honored at an invitation-only dinner ceremony on Sunday, March 11. During the ceremony, five unsuspecting retailers will be further recognized as Global Honorees, based on the deliberations of a distinguished panel of international retail experts. All of the winners are honored with banners spanning the Grand Concourse walkway between the North and South buildings and Lakeside Center.
Based on the positive reception given the gia competition, IHA created another category, gia World, an award to honor multi-national retailing excellence in housewares and home furnishings. This award honors one global retailer for its contributions to home goods retailing across national borders. Co-sponsored by IHA and Euromonitor International, the gia World competition winners are selected through EI’s global retail intelligence and strategic market analysis, which is compiles from a network of more than 600 retail analysts in 70 countries.
The 2007 gia World winner is Home Depot. The retailer will be honored at the gia awards dinner and in the Lakeside Center exhibit.
Global Crossroads Makes It Easy to Appreciate Show’s International Exhibitors
The Global Crossroads Expo, located in the North Building, will feature exhibitors from around the world, including Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. At the entrance of the Global Crossroads is the Global Gateway, which will include Country Lifestyle product displays showcasing culturally diverse, global approaches to the home; the North Building Buyers Club, including the New Product Showcase; the Global Café & Lounge and the Global Trade Fairs & Publications Exhibit.
Attendees will find it easier than ever to navigate the hundreds of international exhibits and products in a colorful, friendly and inviting atmosphere. Like and open air market at an exotic locale, the Global Crossroads brings flavor and spice to the Show.
Global Crossroads reflects the growing representation of international exhibitors at the Show and the huge influence of global design and innovation.
IBC is International Home Away from Home
International buyers make up one-third of total buyer attendees and come from more than 100 countries. To help make the Show a little easier to work, the International Business Center, located in the Level 3 Lobby of the Lakeside Center, offers an oasis from the busy Show floor with services including general Show information, interpreters, email access, refreshments and hospitality areas. In addition, U.S. Department of Commerce officials will be in the IBC to help buyers do business with U.S. housewares exporters.
For more information about the gia Awards and display, Global Crossroads, the International Business Center and other international services and events at the Show, please visit www.housewares.org
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