RetailME Awards 2020
The region’s retail community once again came together at Conrad Hotel Dubai on November 25 to celebrate excellence and felicitate the celebrities in the business of retail at the Images RetailME Awards 2020.
A gala afternoon
Held midway during the Middle East Retail Forum 2020 it was a gathering of some of the region's most powerful and influential retail leaders during the lunch-hour.
The Images RetailME Awards are more than just about winning in a competitive retail market like the Middle East. The awards recognise excellence across a range of retail categories, benchmarking innovations and best practices in this dynamic and vibrant industry. They also serve as a motivational platform for retailers across the region and the world.
With the spotlight on the bestperforming retailers in the Middle
East for 2020, the dazzling ceremony was graced by more than 250 professionals, specialists and VIP guests representing the who's who of the retail industry. The celebrities of the day sparkled on this gala occasion hosted by UAE-based radio and television presenter Tom Urquhart.
A few words on the adjudication process
There can be no more significant accolade than gaining recognition from one’s peers, the awards jury comprising eminent names from the world of retail. Based on the assessment and pulse of the industry, RetailME editorial and research team did the first-round of short-listing the brands. Following which we reached out to brands for nominations under 20 categories. After a lengthy shortlisting process the nominations were shared with our international jury panel – comprising industry veterans and experts - for their evaluation.
The RetailME Chair then vetted the consolidated jury scores. In the final round, scores were shared with Crowe, the results auditors, to collate and verify the results.
We would like to thank all our jurors for investing precious time and expertise to evaluate the submissions and help compile the results.
This year’s jury panel comprised Bernhard Heiden, chief sales officer of the Schweitzer Group, Germany; Hathal Saad Alutaibi, CEO of Alandalus Property Company, Saudi Arabia; Jerzy Osika, owner & CEO of Promedia, Poland; and Mark Thomson, retail industry director, EMEA, Zebra Technologies.
The process helped us nominate more than 65 of the top-performing brands for the 10th annual RetailME Awards this year. The RetailME Chair simultaneously vetted the nominations.
In the final round, scores were shared with Crowe, the results auditors to collate and verify the results. These were kept strictly confidential to maintain secrecy and the spirit of competition and announced publicly only on the awards night.
And this year’s awardees are
The Images RetailME Awards are not about winning or losing but about honouring achievements and motivating thousands of entrepreneurs and retail professionals across the Middle East who labour day and night in stores and offices to give their customers unforgettable moments of joy.
Images RetailME continues to play a pivotal role in furthering the expansion of best-in-class retail in the Middle East. Images RetailME takes pride in hosting this prestigious annual event to recognise the region’s top-performing retailers and most innovative retail practices across a range of consumption categories.
However, beyond winning and losing, the RetailME Awards ceremony is designed to celebrate innovation and achievement in the business of retail in the Middle East and further excellence in one of the world’s most dynamic and glitzy retail destinations.
The first award of the day – the Images Most Admired Brand Campaign of the Year went to Levi’s.
The brand has been innovating since the birth of blue jean since 1873. Levi’s celebrated five incredible women and told their stories of how they are breaking boundaries, using their voice, and positively shaping the world around them. During months of lockdown and social distancing, Levi’s, known for championing unity, aimed to spread the message of joy and togetherness transcending geographical boundaries. Levi’s believes that little joys of life count – meeting a friend, attending a concert, going to the movies and occasionally, buying a fresh pair of jeans – but that life is also precious and worth fighting.
The next three awards recognised how the adoption of digital technology successfully aided in reengineering and re-energising the business to be fit-for-purpose in this new digital age and deliver sustainable digital transformation.
The first in the series - the Images Most Admired Retail Transformation of the Year was claimed by Nyomi.
Some of the key initiatives introduced as part of Nyomi’s retail transformation drive included providing job security before financial gain, creation of e-commerce taskforce with crossfunctions to upscale the game: IT, logistics, marketing, warehouse. No layoffs before and after Covid19.
Introduction of clear daily targets, digital campaigns towards conversion, diversifying audience touchpoints, new website look and feel, deployment of the shoppable app, educating & reassuring customers about safety, online payment, incentivising through exclusive online promotions.
Results of recruiting new users: 673%, ROI +700%, increase in orders by SM +100% more traffic, 1.4 million visitors to the site, 75% new visitors.
E-commerce attained superstardom during the lockdowns around the globe, and it was no different in the region. The jury’s choice for Images Most Admired E-commerce Retailer of the Year fell on Kibsons.
As an importer and distributor of fresh produce in the UAE for nearly four decades, Kibsons has built strong relationships with farmers, packaging houses and exporters across the globe. Almost 40 years of industry experience and relationships with over 600 suppliers. Recorded 1 million orders, with 60% YoY growth, generated a revenue of more than AED 250 million, with 165% YoY growth. More than 18 million items were picked, registering a YoY growth of 61%. During the assessment period, Kibsons registered 130,000 customers with a 94% YoY growth.
Omnichannel retail was another category that remained in the limelight during the pandemic by rising to the occasion. Centrepoint walked away with the Images Most Admired Omnichannel Retailer of the Year.
The growth and expansion of Centrepoint was part of Landmark Group’s strategy to further invest in the brand’s presence and bolster its foothold in the region by bringing new approaches and technologies to retail in the region. To cater to the growing consumer demands and enhance the overall in-store experience, the ‘Stores of the Future’ include offerings that deliver a seamless omnichannel retail experience for customers. It has improved store formats employing the latest technology to create a truly interactive shopping experience.
The next award felicitated retailers who have set a new bar for the art of retail storytelling. These retailers have transformed store spaces into artists' canvases, optimising the use of lighting technology, colour, architecture, digitisation and planogramming to deliver wow shopping experiences.
Since the number of nominations was high in this category and to provide a fair opportunity to the participants, we divided the Images Most Admired Store Design of the Year category into three – Lifestyle, Food and Entertainment. The awardee in lifestyle was Ixora. Seoudi Supermarket Cairo took the honours in food while the awardee in entertainment was Fabyland located at Nakheel Mall.
Modern interiors of Ixora are inspired by nature, history & science. Based on historical references to ancient civilisations - Egyptian, Roman & Mesopotamian, the narrative of the shop design is inspired by the juxtaposition of natural textural materials and abstractions and construction methods in architecture. The overall space plays with traditional architectural principles and forms in a dramatic, deconstructed manner. Media screens are introduced into the design to provide an educational and memorable experience.
The product innovator being of Egyptian nationality, wanted to imbue his ethnicity into the concept in a subtle way. Its new hieroglyphs allude to cosmetics, science, and beauty.
Seoudi Supermarket chain was established in 1938. Renovated in 1978 and expanded to serve customers from 13 branches around Cairo and Giza plus a seasonal branch in the North Coast to be the most deep-rooted supermarket in the retail sector in Egypt.
Inspired by the colours and materials from ancient Cairo, the store has a story to tell. Look and feel of the store has been curated with an exciting contrast. Natural and urban elements combined with industrial style has resulted in a store, one of its kind. The fruit and vegetable section uses steel frames, wood, bricks, and natural elements to create a fresh ripe market look and feel.
FabyLand at Nakheel Mall is its latest flagship store spread over 40,000 sqft unveiling a new level of entertainment in the city for children, families, and friends to experience latest games, rides. All interior elements, from flooring, finishes, ceilings, lighting, and fixtures to graphics, reflect the total entertainment design through the physical extension of the shop front design concept. Signage and wall graphics design are imaginative, unique, unusual, and creative.
There are three pillars to the retail story – people, processes, and technology. And retail is still very much a people’s business! Our next category featured some outstanding customer-facing professionals who know they are the vital ingredients of retailing excellence, not just a prop on the sales floor.
Given the number of nominations for the Images Most Admired Store Manager of the Year, we decided to honour two store managers in this category - Damir Jovic from Xstrike and Noman Khan from Nando’s.
Damir Jovic is the general manager at Xstrike. He has ten years of experience in the leisure industry and started his career in Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi in 2010. Jovic joined just a month before Xstrike opened in December 2019. Within a short period, he managed to develop a great relationship with everyone involved in the project - from higher management to the suppliers’ teams working on the facility. Being aware of the uniqueness of the project and the importance of the software and equipment for the operational performance, he managed to understand all aspects of it.
Noman Khan is the restaurant manager at Nando’s UAE. He joined the food chain in April 2011. As a manager, Noman runs Nando’s
Marina Walk restaurant. Noman’s attributes are management skills, leadership and team building. Noman is an inspiring and motivational leader who has grown and developed his team to achieve success in their everyday activity. Marina Walk restaurant has the highest staff retention across the business; the staff do not want to leave or move to other locations. They all testify that they do not wish to leave Noman and the team in Marina Walk!
The honours for the Images Most Admired Responsible Retailer of the Year went to Skechers.
Skechers is a $4.16 billion global leader in the performance and lifestyle footwear industry, USA, Inc. It designs, develops and markets more than 3,000 styles for men, women and children. Skechers’ success stems from its employees, high-quality, varied product offering, diversified domestic and international distribution channels, and targeted multi-channel marketing. Campaign for each Skechers product bought in May; it donated a meal to the programme to provide food assistance to the less fortunate families and individuals. Skechers raised AED 64,000 and sponsored 8,000 meals. Also, Skechers donated over 6,000 pairs of shoes to healthcare heroes in the UAE amid coronavirus crises.
The honours for individual consumption verticals followed next. Sacoor Brothers snapped the Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year – fashion & Lifestyle.
The brand’s journey began with the dream of four brothers and a small store in Lisbon in 1989. The opening of its first shopping mall store in Colombo, Lisbon, in 1997 marked its expansion. The new Millennium was a turning point for the brand with the introduction of women’s wear and children’s wear while continuing its growth. New stores opened in Cyprus, Palestine, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Sri Lanka, and Romania in 2019.
Sacoor At Your Home service and Whatsapp Shopping service were launched 2020. Opened one new store in Abu Dhabi Mall and six new stores in Saudi Arabia. The next award for Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year: Beauty and Wellness category went to Izil.
I was born out of the dream and passion of Mouna Abbassy, a young and passionate marketing professional who wanted to bring the ancient Moroccan beauty rituals to the world. She started selling some products on the Facebook page, and a few exhibitions in the UAE. Opened Izil’s first kiosk in Dubai Festival City. From 2014 and 2016, Izil opened six kiosks. In 2016, Izil decided to close all the kiosks, revamp the brand, and open one major kiosk in Dubai Mall and launch an e-commerce website. In 2019, Izil opened its own manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah and a year later, a flagship store in the Dubai Mall after a second major brand revamp. The Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Pharmacy & Healthcare was Nahdi Pharmacy.
Nahdi Medical Company, founded in 1986, focuses on delivering primary care by building a health care ecosystem. Its operations include Retail Pharmacies which are more than 1300 stores in Saudi Arabia and one store in Dubai, serving 100 million customers. Lara Pharmacy, its newest’ store of the future’ opened in 2020. Nahdi started its Omni-channel operations in 2018 and recorded at the end of the same year a revenue of 49 million Saudi riyals, serving 15.2 million customers.
Grandiose Supermarket bagged the award for the Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year: Food & Grocery.
Grandiose, the French grocery brand Intermarche’ has brought a fresh look and feel to the grocery scene in the UAE. When Grandiose was conceptualising this project, they had one goal, to make ‘as many hearts as possible fall in love and make them stay.’ To provide everyday needs, to satisfy cravings, to answer every grocery shopper’s whim. Grandiose aims to remain at the top of mind of customers. The brand plans to reach more than 20 stores in Q1 of 2021.
Before heading for the finale, we have a special awardee chosen for its exceptional performance during 2019-20. Leisure & Entertainment operator Fabyland received the Images Excellence Award.
FabyLand positioned as a one-stop entertainment, edutainment and sportstainment for kids. There is no entry fee; children can use a FabyLand Game card, which they can top up with credit and swipe on games and rides they want to play. Fabyland’s unlimited fun offer was availed by 1557, with an average of 87 kids per day. Many redemptions on voucher giveaways and received more than 1,000 leads from Facebook campaign. Recorded more than 125,000 impressions on.
Now, for the penultimate honour of the day, recognising retailing excellence in the Middle East for 2020.
We are proud to present this year’s prestigious ‘Hall of Fame’ title of the ‘Most Admired Retail Personality of the Year’ to an outstanding entrepreneur and one of the region’s most admired retail business personalities. While he does not need an introduction, here is a brief about him. He began his career in 1979 by joining his father’s vision to build a bridge between the East and West and be the ambassador of luxury lifestyle in the region. In 1990, he created a regional distribution platform in the Jebel Ali Free zone with Fendi, L’Oréal, Dior Parfums and Puig.
Beginning 2000 he developed the Group’s retail network from a few stores to over 600 stores with a workforce of over 12,000 in the region in 14 countries. For nearly 30 years, he has fully involved himself in the strategic development of the business. He is also eager to strengthen the Group’s support services and very engaged in the Group’s digital transformation. He has been instrumental in guiding the development of a sustainability strategy for the Group, with a focus on People, Partners, Planet and Community Giving. He is a board member of the UN Global Compact. He holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in Economics and Finance and the other in Political Science. At the age of 42, the French government awarded him with the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. He is also