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A Matakana shop has been chosen as one of the top five home and housewares retailers in the world at an international retail competition in the United States.
Green With Envy’s Nicole Ward (pictured) was flown to Chicago after being named the New Zealand winner of the 2016 Global Innovation Awards for Retail Excellence and, at a special awards evening, the store was named one of only five 2017 ‘Global Honorees’ out of 24 competing countries.
Nicole says both awards were a complete surprise, as she had no idea that the Sharp Road store had even been nominated for the initial NZ award.
“I didn’t think for a minute that we would be a contender, especially considering we were up against giants like Amazon.com. It was a real David and Goliath moment for us,” she says. “It was amazing going to the awards and seeing our name and logo on these giant banners at the International Home + Housewares Show.”
Judges said it was the special boutique nature of Green With Envy, which started as an online store before moving into the former fruit and vegetable shop in 2014, that made it stand out from some of the bigger, global competitors. They noted that it was not only a well-loved brand, but “a friendly community of like-minded people” that enjoyed supporting local community initiatives.
Nicole says the award has given her the chance to reflect on the growth and progress of Green With Envy since she began doing a few online orders out of her garage in 2011.
“It was interesting for us to see how much we have evolved since we started our business,” she says. “We are very aware that successful retail is about strong relationships, with our customers, suppliers and our staff, and we continue to build on that. Our community means a lot to us.”
The other four 2017 GIA Global Honorees were Borough Kitchen, UK; Loft, Japan; Rustan’s
Department Store, The Philippines; and Potten & Pannan, Eastern Europe.
