23 June 2021

It's the annual Excellence in Housewares Awards 2021 - and you're being encouraged to make your nominations now.

The awards, run by Progressive Houseware magazine, will host the prestigious prize-giving ceremony at the Lancaster Hotel, London, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. However, you've only got until July 16 to cast your nominations.

Excellence-in-Housewares-Awards-2019

This year's categories are:

  • Best supermarket retailer - Open to national supermarkets, this award will recognise a retailer’s specifics efforts for its house and home offer in store and online. 
  • Best garden centre retailer - Recognising the growth in the housewares product offer at garden centres, this category is not defined by number of stores but may be entered by garden centre retailers who have paid particular attention to the house and home sector.
  • Retail employee of the year - Nomination of retail employees who make a difference with their enthusiastic, attentive and knowledgeable service (and who could be considered ‘the unsung heroes’ of the shop floor or customer services team.)
  • Excellence in online retailing - Nominees should be retailers of housewares who use the internet as a highly significant or primary route to its consumers
  • Excellence in retail training - This award is for a retailer’s approach to training for its team. This can be an on-going training programme or specific training initiative that has been instigated (or been particularly significant) in the last year.
  • Excellence in retail display (Independent) - Nominees should be an independent retailer. Window and/or in-store displays which are either specific to one product range or of a more generic nature which demonstrate originality and maximise visual impact.
  • Excellence in retail display (Multiple or department store) - Nominees should be a multiple retailer, a department store chain or independent department store. Window and/or in-store displays which are either specific to one product range or of a more generic nature which demonstrate originality and maximise visual impact.
  • Excellence in retail initiative - This award is for a single recent initiative to promote the sale of housewares products and/or raise the profile of the retailer and foster customer loyalty (from any housewares retailer, whether independent or multiple).
  • Best department store (Independent) - Nominees should be an individual independent department store or branch of a small group of up to three stores, showing excellence in areas across the retail spectrum, including: product range, product knowledge, staff training, customer care, marketing and promotion, display and (if relevant) multi-channel retailing.
  • Best department store (Multiple branch or group member) - Nominees should be a specific branch of a department store chain or group of above three stores showing excellence in areas across the retail spectrum, including: product range, procateduct knowledge, staff training, customer care, marketing and promotion, display and (if relevant) multi-channel retailing.
  • Independent cookshop of the year (Up to three stores) - Nominees should be an independent bricks and mortar retailer up to three stores, whose main business is that of a cookware shop
  • Cookshop of the year (Multiple or small group retailer of the year, four or more stores): Nominees should be a specialist or non-specialist retailer of housewares products excluding department stores, garden centres or supermarkets.

There are also categories for products and special recognition awards. The EXTENDED deadline for nominations in Friday, July 16, 2021.

Bira members who have been awarded Excellence in Housewares Awards in the past include Potters Cookhop of Hockley, Borough Kitchen, Prep & Richard Dare, Jarrold of Norwich, and Barkers of North Allerton. We reported on the 2020 winners here

Find out more and make your nominations now

Additional Guidance and Resources