IHA Global Innovation Award Retail Winners From 30 Countries Announced

ROSEMONT, IL (February 4, 2026) – 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 Excellence in Retailing 2025-2026: 31 outstanding home and housewares retailers from 30 countries around the globe, including three totally new to the gia program – Croatia, Indonesia and Paraguay. The winners will be honored at The Inspired Home Show 2026, which will take place March 10-12 in Chicago.

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 over 600 gia retail award winners, from 60 countries on six continents.

The 2025-2026 national gia winners are:

Argentina            Seta Bazar            setabazar.com.ar

Australia            Kabinett            kabinett.com.au

Austria            Franz Eder KG            franz-eder.at

Azerbaijan            Italdizain            italdizain.az

Belgium            Panache            panachekoksijde.be

Brazil            Casa Riachuelo            riachuelo.com.br/moda-casa

Canada            Boutique Crème            boutique1101.com

Chile            Kitchen Center            kitchencenter.cl

Colombia            ALANA            alanahogar.co

Dominican Republic            Casa Cuesta            casacuesta.com

Eastern Europe            Lonci&Poklopci, Croatia            lonciipoklopci.hr

France                        Le Jacquard Français                        le-jacquard-francais.com

Germany            SCHÄFFER            schaeffer24.de

India            Reliance Retail            relianceretail.com

Ireland            Smyth’s Homevalue                        smythshomevalue.ie

Italy            GIOCOVIVO

Japan            

ASPLUND Co Ltd TIMELESS COMFORT Kitchen and Dining            timelesscomfort.com

Middle East            Danube Home, United Arab Emirates            danubehome.com/ae/en

Netherlands            Koken en Wonen            kokenenwonen.nl

New Zealand            Freedom            freedomfurniture.co.nz

Paraguay            MARKETPLACE – Tu Casa Es Tu Reino            marketplace.com.py

Poland                        Homla                        Homla.com.pl

Portugal            Armazéns Europa

Saudi Arabia            Home Centre            homecentre.com

Southeast Asia            MR.D.I.Y. Indonesia, Indonesia

Spain            Drogueria Rovira            drogueriarovira.com

Türkiye            Gallery Crystal            gallerycrystal.com.tr

United Kingdom            Fenwick            fenwick.co.uk

Uruguay            Punto Design            puntodesign.com.uy

USA - Giftware Retailers

Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts            grandpashorters.com

USA - Housewares Retailers

The Culinary Institute of America – Marketplace at Copia

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 Tuesday, March 10, 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 in 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, the four gia Expert Jurors – Wolfgang Gruschwitz, Scott Kohno, Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen and Denise Foley – will present a special session in the Show’s Inspiration Theater on Wednesday, March 11.

The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s global home and housewares marketplace, will be held March 10-12 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. For more information about the 2026 Show, and to register for your free Show entrance badge, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com. 

For more information about the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program, the co-sponsors or participating in 2026-2027, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta.torro@inspiredconnection.fi.

The International Housewares Association (IHA) is the 87-year-old voice of the home and housewares industry, dedicated to bringing buyers and sellers together. IHA hosts its premier exposition of products for the home, The Inspired Home Show, in Chicago every March. Each year, the Show brings together more than 2,000 unique brands and several hundred thousand products with both global and domestic buyers; U.S.-based attendees alone represent more than 100,000 retail locations and over $64 billion in buying power. The not-for-profit, full-service Association also offers member companies a wide range of services including industry and government advocacy; export assistance; trend reports; executive management peer groups; group buying discounts; and an independent news and information platform, HomePageNews.com.

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