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:
| Country | Store Name | Store Website |
| 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 | ciaatcopia.com/marketplace |
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.
Editor’s Note: Images for each of the 31 national gia winners for Excellence in Retailing 2025-2026
can be found at https://ihagia.smugmug.com/Gia/2026-gia-Press-Photos
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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.
Follow IHA on LinkedIn and Facebook and The Inspired Home Show on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.
About the gia Expert Jurors
Wolfgang Gruschwitz
With a strong background and expertise in retail architecture and design, Wolfgang Gruschwitz leads his eponymous company, Gruschwitz GmbH, based in Munich. The design and implementation studio specializes in tailor-made, user-centered spatial concepts, creating spaces for stores, showrooms, supermarkets, restaurants, law firms and medical practices, as well as co-working and co-living environments. In 2005, Gruschwitz got its first international recognition with the Brand World in Munich’s Allianz Arena Soccer Stadium. Over the years, Gruschwitz has served high profile clients such as Burberry, Gucci, Stone Island, UNIQLO, ZARA, Superdry, Jaguar/Land Rover and Red Bull. In addition, Wolfgang has redesigned the Duty-Free shop at the Munich Airport.
Since 2021, Wolfgang Gruschwitz has co-hosted the podcast series “Talk4Future” together with his partner Thomas Frey, where they explore future-oriented topics in conversation with influential figures from retail, fashion, hospitality, politics, industry, healthcare and other areas.
Wolfgang has been a member of the gia Expert Jury since 2003.
Scott Kohno
Scott Kohno is a retail executive and has developed several hundred million square feet of retail projects worldwide in virtually every continent from Asia to South America, and from Australia to Europe. With projects in more than 20 countries, Scott’s retail perspective is quite unique and his passion for retail has been instrumental in the creation of groundbreaking concepts such as the NASDAQ Marketsite in Times Square in New York City.
Recently, with his family, he co-founded EJL Entertainment, a creative food, retail and delivery concept, bringing the “Wow” experience to customers with brands such as Sushi With Attitude. This concept started during the pandemic and has grown exponentially – Sushi With Attitude was recently recognized by INC Magazine as the 23rd fastest growing company in the USA.
As a respected expert in the retail field, Scott has addressed conferences worldwide for the National Retail Federation and The Asian Retailers Conference. He has been a featured expert in USA Today, INC Magazine and Forbes Magazine.
Scott has been a member of the gia Expert Jury since 2005.
Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen
Henrik is the CEO and Founder of Reisby Consult – a consulting company with a strong focus on creating and delivering consumer centric solutions for the digital future.
Henrik combines old school virtues with new technologies and services. He has aided and created innovative and digital solutions for cities, retail chains and large international corporations such as AIG and Mastercard, and he is a popular international keynote speaker at trade shows around the world.
Henrik formerly owned H.P. Nielsen, a home and housewares store in Denmark, running the family store in its fourth generation. In 2007, Henrik’s store H.P. Nielsen won the gia Global Honoree Award.
Henrik has been a member of the gia Expert Jury since 2010.
Denise Foley
Denise Foley is a seasoned expert in Visual Presentation with over 30 years of experience spanning luxury retail, brand merchandising and education. Most recently, she served as Senior Visual Merchandising Manager, Americas Wholesale for Burberry, where she led strategic visual initiatives across key markets.
Her career began with a 13-year tenure at Lord & Taylor in the Tri-State area, followed by creative roles at iconic New York retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. In 2011, she transitioned to the brand side, serving as Senior Visual Manager for Moncler USA before joining Burberry. Denise has also contributed her expertise through a range of consulting roles, helping brands elevate their visual identity and in-store experience.
An advocate for visual storytelling and design education, Denise taught in the Visual Presentation department at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, where she also helped shape new curriculum offerings.
She holds degrees in Display and Exhibition Design from FIT and Business Administration and Management from Fisher College in Boston.
Denise has been a member of the gia Expert Jury since 2025.
