U.S. – The International Home + Housewares Show and the International Housewares Association (IHA), the global sponsors and organizers of the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) program, announced the 2018 gia Global Honorees for Retail Excellence.

The Global Honorees are: Tugó – Colombia, Manufactum – Germany, Pollmann sinds 1890 – Netherlands, Harrods – United Kingdom and The Chopping Block – USA. The award ceremony was held at the Radisson Blu Aqua hotel in Chicago on Saturday, March 10.

It was a great honor for Tugó to be among the five 2018 gia Global Honorees. The Colombian furniture retail chain was founded in 2002 and today operates 11 stores located in Bogota (5), Medellin (3), Cali (2) and Barranquilla (1). The global gia jury, consisting of four retail/visual merchandising experts and seven editors and publishers of co-sponsoring housewares trade publications from around the world, selected the gia Global Honorees from the winners previously chosen in their respective countries by the national gia sponsors.

Scott Kohno, member of the gia jury said: “Tugó has won because it does not look like any furniture store anywhere in the world, it is a unique store that mixes the good selection of products, the environments, the guided tour and maintains the storage of product perimeter allowing the client to take the furniture and accessories immediately." In addition Kohno exalted the coherence and congruence in the graphic line, catalogs, photography and in-store exhibition.

Cristian Morales, Marketing Manager along with Adriana Cano, Visual Merchandizing Manager traveled to Chicago on behalf of Tugó to the award ceremony. Tugó dedicated this award to Santiago de Angulo, the Company’s cofounder, Creative Director and responsible for building the brand’s DNA and who sadly passed away last year. “This award represents his legacy”, said the company in a statement to the press.