The Inspired Home Show® and the International Housewares Association (IHA) are excited to announce the 2025 gia (Global Innovation Awards) Global Honorees for Retail Excellence. These prestigious honorees represent some of the most innovative and dynamic retailers from around the world, celebrated for their excellence in various aspects of retailing.
The 2025 gia Global Honorees Are:
- CUK – Argentina
- Mud Australia – Australia
- Album de Famille – France
- Balmuda Inc. – Japan
- Balthazar Kookwinkel – Netherlands
The gia global jury, which consists of four retail and visual merchandising experts, along with seven editors and publishers from housewares trade publications across the globe, selected the Global Honorees from a pool of 31 national winners, who were chosen earlier this month.
Special Award Winners
In addition to the Global Honorees, the gia program recognized two special award winners for their outstanding contributions to retailing:
- The Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising was awarded to Morandin Regali from Italy.
- The gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing was presented to IN8 Home of Brazil and Schafer of Turkey.
Celebrating Retail Innovation at The Inspired Home Show
The gia program, which was created by IHA and The Inspired Home Show, aims to recognize and promote innovation and excellence in home and housewares retailing worldwide. Since its inception in 2000, the gia program has honored nearly 600 retail award winners from 57 countries across six continents.
The gia awards competition is structured at both national and global levels, evaluating retailers on the following criteria:
- 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
Honoring National Winners and Global Recognition
The gia program is co-sponsored by housewares trade publications worldwide, each of which oversees the national gia award programs in their respective countries. This year, 31 national winners from 30 countries were selected and automatically entered into the global competition held at The Inspired Home Show in Chicago.
The global recognition of the 2025 gia winners will be showcased prominently at The Inspired Home Show. The festive gia awards dinner, held at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago on March 2, celebrated these outstanding retailers. Additionally, a special display in the Grand Concourse Lobby of the Show introduces the national winners to visitors and exhibitors, highlighting their achievements in retailing excellence.
For those unable to attend, all gia national winners and Global Honorees are featured in a dedicated gallery on The Inspired Home Show website.
The gia program continues to shine a spotlight on the finest retailers, celebrating their innovative practices and contributions to the global housewares industry.
Congratulations to the 2025 gia Global Honorees and all of this year’s award winners for their remarkable achievements in retail excellence!