Celebrating 25 Years of IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia)
2024-2025 gia Winners to be Honored at The Inspired Home Show in Chicago
Excellence in housewares retailing will be an important focus at The Inspired Home Show 2025 in Chicago as the world’s most innovative and creative home and housewares retailers are honored at the 25th annual IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program.
The Inspired Home Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), the global sponsors and organizers of the gia program, today announced the national gia winners for 2024-2025: 31 outstanding home and housewares retailers from 30 countries around the globe, including winners from new gia countries Mauritius and Uzbekistan.
The gia program was created by IHA and The Inspired Home Show to foster innovation and excellence in home and housewares retailing throughout the world. Since the launch of gia in 2000, there have been close to 600 gia retail award winners, from 57 countries on six continents.
The 2024-2025 national gia winners are (listed by country: store name; store website):
Argentina: CUK; cukbazar.com
Australia: Mud Australia; mudaustralia.com
Austria: J.M.Offner; geschenke-offner.at
Belgium: ‘t Kookdepot; kookdepot.be
Brazil: IN8 Home; in8home.com
Canada: Carol’s Nicetys shop;.nicetys.com
Chile: Tiendas Paris; paris.cl
Colombia: Carmina Villegas; carminavillegas.com
Eastern Europe: Kaubamaja, Estonia; kaubamaja.ee
France: Album de Famille; album-de-famille.net
Germany: Tavola; tavola.de
India: Home Stop; shoppersstop.com/category/Homestop
Ireland: Arboretum Home & Garden Heaven; arboretum.ie
Italy: Morandin regali; morandinregali.com
Japan: BALMUDA Inc.; balmuda.com/jp/shops
Mauritius: Cuisinex; cuisinex.mu
Mexico: Bed Bath & Beyond México; bedbathandbeyond.com.mx
Middle East: Crate & Barrel ME & Majid Al Futtaim, UAE; crateandbarrel.me
Netherlands: Balthazar Kookwinkel; balthazarkookwinkel.nl
New Zealand: A&C Homestore; achomestore.co.nz
Poland: Gerlach S.A.; gerlach1760.pl
Portugal: My Kitchen by Ideiassaudaveis
Saudi Arabia: Alhadaya Center; alhadayacenter.com
Southeast Asia: Metro, Singapore; metro.com.sg
Spain: Fernando González
Turkey: Schafer; schafer.com.tr
United Kingdom: Trevor Mottram; trevormottram.co.uk
Uruguay: OYSTER Deco Design
USA (Giftware): Perch Home & Company; perchhome.com
USA (Housewares): The Artist’s Kitchen Shop; theartistskitchenshop.myshoplocal.com
Uzbekistan: Noble Décor
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
Each national gia winner is invited to The Inspired Home Show in Chicago, where 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, in addition to the winners of the Martin M. Pegler Award for Excellence in Visual Merchandising and the gia Digital Commerce Award for Excellence in Online Retailing.
On Sunday, March 2, the national winners will be honored at a festive awards dinner where the gia Global Honorees and winners of the Martin M. Pegler and gia Digital Commerce Awards will be announced. In addition, the national winners will be featured with a special display at the Show.
gia is more than an awards program. Representing retailing excellence around the world, it 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 – Wolfgang Gruschwitz, Scott Kohno and Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen – will present a special session in the Show’s Inspiration Theater titled “The Exciting Retail Experience – A Digital Evolution with AI and Human-Centric Values.”
The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s global home + housewares marketplace, will be held March 2-4 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex. For more information about the 2025 Show, and to register please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com.
For more information about the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program, the co-sponsors or participating in 2025-2026, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta.torro@inspiredconnection.fi.
