Buying group Associated Independent Stores has announced its annual award winners today, which were presented at the August Furniture and Furnishing Accessories Show.
In addition to the bed and bedroom cabinet supplier awards which were presented in April 2017, AIS has now announced its Gold Standard and Supplier of the Year awards in the upholstery and cabinet categories as well as its prestigious Member of the Year accolades.
The Supplier of the Year for 2017 is the ultimate reward for any AIS supplier as it is voted for solely by AIS members. For the upholstery merchandise category, this year’s award went to Alstons Upholstery for the fifth time in the last six years, with Parker Knoll voted in to second place and Celebrity in third.
In the cabinet category Baker Furniture was voted Supplier of the Year, with second and third places going to Classic Furniture and TCH respectively.
The prestigious and much sought-after Gold Standard Awards are presented to suppliers who demonstrate a commitment to members in terms of product quality, deliveries and customer service. Only top suppliers qualify for the award and AIS announced the 2017 Gold Standard Winners as follows:
Upholstery
Alstons
Ashwood Designs
Celebrity
Daro
Duresta
G-Plan Upholstery
Himolla
Parker Knoll
Sherborne
Yeoman Upholstery
Cabinet
Andrena
Baker Furniture
Classic Furniture
TCH Furniture
UK-CF
Unique Furniture
Venjakob
The Member of the Year award is important to many AIS members as it is recognition from suppliers of the way in which they merchandise their stores and the manner in which they conduct their retail operations.
The Member of the Year award for the larger turnover group was split once again into single store and multiple store retailers. The Multiple Store Winner for 2017 was Glasswells in its 70th anniversary year, with Alan Ward in second place and Sterling Furniture in Scotland voted in to third. Fishpools in Hertfordshire was voted as the Member of the Year in the single store category with Roomes coming a close second and Housing Units of Manchester achieving third place.
In the smaller turnover group, Ward Brothers, based in Doncaster was voted the winner in its very first year as an AIS member ahead of Eyres of Chesterfield in second and Beadle Crome Interiors in third place.
In summary, the member winners for 2017 are as follows:
Turnover Group 1-2: Multiple Store Category
Winner: Glasswells
2nd Place: Alan Ward
3rd Place: Sterling
Turnover Group 1-2: Single Store Category
Winner: Fishpools
2nd Place: Roomes
3rd Place: Housing Units
Turnover Group 3-5
Winner: Ward Brothers
2nd Place: Eyres of Chesterfield
3rd Place: Beadle Crome Interiors
Peter Mallinson, merchandise director for AIS Home, says: “The competition for both Member of the Year and Supplier of the Year was a strong as I have ever known. As far as the Gold Standards was concerned, I was delighted with the results as the criteria for winning the awards had become much more stringent over recent years, reflecting the need to ensure that wherever possible, we as an industry exceed customer expectations."
