The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA) announced 31 retailers from 30 countries as the national gia (Global Innovation Awards) winners for 2024/2025.
Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the gia program, which was launched in 2000 by IHA and The Inspired Home Show to foster innovation and excellence in home and housewares retailing throughout the world. Some 600 gia retail award winners from 57 countries on six continents have been honored since the launch of the gia program.
This year’s awards program includes winning national retailers from new gia countries Mauritius and Uzbekistan. View the 2024-2025 national gia winners.
Recognizing Excellence in Retail
The gia competition is structured on a two-tier level, national and global, to honor independent and multiple-location home and housewares retailers for excellence in several business categories:
- 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
Global Recognition at The Inspired Home Show
Each national gia winner is invited to The Inspired Home Show in Chicago. The global gia jury, consisting of four experts representing Asia, Europe, and the Americas—plus a rotating group of co-sponsoring trade publication editors from around the world—will select up to five gia Global Honorees. Additionally, the jury will name winners for:
- The Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising
- The gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing
The global gia jury includes:
- Wolfgang Gruschwitz – Head of Gruschwitz GmbH in Munich, Germany
- Scott Kohno – CEO of EJL Entertainment and owner of The Retail Element in Los Angeles
- Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen – CEO and founder of Reisby Consult in Roskilde, Denmark
- Anne Kong – Professor and program coordinator for the Spatial Experience Design Program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City
Awards Dinner and Special Display
National gia winners will be honored at a festive awards dinner on Sunday, March 2, during The Inspired Home Show. The gia Global Honorees and winners of the Martin M. Pegler and gia Digital Commerce Awards will be announced during the awards dinner. Additionally, the national winners will be featured in a special display at the Show.
Educational Opportunities at The Inspired Home Show
The gia program is part of a larger education initiative that includes seminars by retail experts, columns in international housewares publications, and educational sessions at events in sponsors’ home countries.
As part of gia’s educational offering, on Monday, March 3, three gia Expert Jurors will present a special session in the Show’s Inspiration Theater. The session, titled “The Exciting Retail Experience – A Digital Evolution with AI and Human-Centric Values,” will examine how human values and sensory experiences will restore meaning, trust, and connection to physical retail spaces, even as AI and digital innovations redefine retail convenience.