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Meet the Good Retail Awards 2022 Sponsors

Good Retail Awards 2022 winners

Following on from a virtual awards ceremony last year, the Good Retail Awards are back on the stage and bigger than ever before. Taking place as part of Spring Fair in February 2022, the Good Retail Awards are set to shine a light on the achievements of those embracing innovation and creativity to achieve retail success. Modern Retail are delighted to announce the official Good Retail Awards 2022 sponsors; a range of progressive companies serving the retail industry.

Modern Retail had the pleasure of speaking to each sponsor, getting their insight on the retail industry, as well as sharing what they’re looking forward to most from the 2022 Awards. Here’s what they had to say:

Meet the Good Retail Awards 2022 sponsors

Gold Sponsor: ShipStation

ShipStation

ShipStation is a multi-channel, multi-carrier order and delivery management platform that streamlines and automates key ecommerce processes. With over 300 integrations to all major selling channels, ecommerce platforms and carriers, they help retailers provide a great customer delivery experience.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards again and are looking forward to hearing how retailers have managed sales across online and physical stores throughout the year. The Good Retail Award is a great opportunity to reward the creativity and ingenuity of retailers of different sizes. It’s something we’re proud to be a part of.

We’ve seen an increased focus on sustainability in 2021, both in product sourcing and delivery. Consumers are increasingly more climate-conscious, which has driven real change within the retail industry. Related to the environmentally-friendliness of retail, we also saw more retailers adopting a ‘Ship from Store’ model, enabling them to manage stock across multiple locations, reduce their carbon footprint and increase the speed of delivery.

With a shift to more eco-friendly goods, services and delivery options, retailers have had the chance to provide exceptional customer shopping experiences, raising their brand awareness and loyalty. There has been a real focus on listening to customer demands for change and acting on it.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

This year and the last have been anything but normal. It’ll be great to see how retailers have been innovative and creative throughout 2021 to ride the ongoing rollercoaster that is retailing at the moment. Celebrating their success stories will help drive continued innovation and creativity across the industry – not just in the winners!

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

Without a doubt, there will be a continued increase in the focus on sustainability. Consumers are keener than ever to purchase environmentally-friendly products from brands with a proven climate-conscious track record.

‘Free Returns’ could well be a theme that also dominates the retail landscape in 2022. We believe that the advent of “keep it” will likely not happen as much this year, with retailers happy to receive returns, enabling them to generate new, profitable sales. 

Based on ecommerce trends, we may see an increase in augmented reality usage within the online shopping industry, allowing customers to try on or see products within their homes. Additionally, the increase in artificial intelligence and analytics to better serve customers the products and services they want could take precedence in ecommerce marketing strategies.

Finally, we foresee the visibility of stock and warehouse locations as a major trend for 2022, as customers want to know the availability of products before they place an online order.

Good Retail Awards 2022 Silver Sponsors

James and James

James and James

Founded in 2010 by Cambridge graduates, James Hyde and James Strachan, James and James Fulfilment is an award-winning and trusted partner to hundreds of online retailers for the provision of ecommerce order fulfilment services – from storage of products, right through to returns management.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

We’re proud to be playing a part in celebrating retailers who are making a positive impact in the industry today. It’s safe to say it’s been a testing 18+ months and this will be a fantastic event to reward those who have achieved success despite the challenges.

As an ecommerce fulfilment partner to hundreds of scaling brands, we’ve seen a monumental increase in the volume of products needing to be shipped to customers. For retailers that weren’t already online, they had to adapt fast and switch to online to survive. Many retailers who did not have an online presence came to us because they needed their fulfilment set up within weeks rather than months – or simply because their online sales were growing at a rate where they could no longer keep up.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

We’re going to be inspired by the stories of how retailers have adapted in a changing environment and maintained a fantastic customer experience. While it’s been a year of much doom and gloom, retailers (particularly online retailers) have prospered and they deserve to be recognised for their perseverance.

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

The pandemic has driven a permanent shift in consumer behaviour. We’ve seen retailers looking to outsource order fulfilment, delivery and returns as part of a multi-channel approach that gives customers what they want, when they want – at home or instore. 

While the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 will still be felt for a while, opportunities for retailers to differentiate themselves remain. Ecommerce is here to stay – consumers have acclimatised to the convenience of online shopping, and so long as the customer experience is seamless from basket to door, retailers will continue to win the day.

BITO Storage Systems Ltd

Bito

With their head office and main production facilities in Germany, BITO is an internationally operating manufacturer of storage and order picking systems that are used by retailers all around Europe. Their product range includes shelving and racking; storage and order picking systems; bins and containers and warehouse equipment and accessories. The UK subsidiary operates from Nuneaton in the Midlands where BITO has an office, warehouse and well-equipped showroom. A team of Solutions Designers are able to visit a customer’s site and design a solution based on requirements and they have an online shop where products can be purchased.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

As a supplier of equipment to the retail industry, it is important to BITO to support retailers who try to be progressive and innovative in the way they operate. In a crowded market, being different or original is increasingly difficult, so recognising those companies that manage it is important. The awards happen at an important moment as the spring season begins, and particularly this year, as retailers come out of an incredibly difficult period with, hopefully the worst of the pandemic behind us.

It is widely recognised that the pandemic highlighted some retail trends that were already happening in the market. The most obvious being the growth of online shopping in all retail categories and BITO’s experience reflected this. To benefit from the growth in online shopping, companies have looked towards lower cost solutions to help improve fulfilment operations and meet the need for flexibility. An efficient picking and shipping warehouse operation is fundamental to a successful online business and BITO has been able to supply a range of solutions to facilitate this improved efficiency.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

A continuation of the service and product innovation seen at the 2021 awards. Retailers that embrace ecommerce but also recognise that the experience of shopping cannot always be satisfied by looking at a screen. Retailers that view shopping as not only about purchasing, but also about experiencing. The concept may not be new, but now more than ever, it is important for retailers to embrace it.

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

The retail industry is the final link in the supply chain of getting goods from the factory to the consumer.  All along that chain, companies are looking for efficiency and cost savings to help compete effectively. For retailers, that efficiency can come from investment in the likes of multi-tier shelving, adapting pallet racking for picking small items, installing live storage flow shelves to improve pick face density, or investing in bins and containers for efficient storage and delivery. Whichever solution a company looks at, the underlying requirements will continue to be efficiency and getting more out the space available.

FedEx Cross Border (UK) Limited

FedEx

FedEx Cross Border (UK) provides a portfolio of technology-enablement, transportation and trade-facilitation solutions to help ease international complexities for B2C e-tailers. E-tailers can benefit from FedEx International Connect® which provides flexible delivery options, end-to-end tracking (where available), commercial and postal import clearance and final-mile delivery options.

For e-tailers looking to take their product to market for the first time or take their business to the next level, our fulfilment solution offers an automated end-to-end delivery service. This service helps give you both control and peace of mind.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards again this year. It is a great opportunity to recognise how ecommerce retailers have become such a vital part of the consumer experience. Over the past 18 months, ecommerce retailers have had to adapt to the ever-changing behaviours of consumers. These awards give us the opportunity to  help recognise those that have gone above and beyond.

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for businesses to adapt and respond quickly, providing consumers with the service they know and trust – that isn’t one size fits all! That isn’t to say all consumers don’t all want to be treated the same way, but depending on their own personal circumstances it will determine how they want to be interacted with and the services they require. Consumers have become even more familiar with online shopping and  this is something which isn’t going to go away post-COVID-19. Expanding your business cross border highlights the differing consumer requirements even more; international consumers in Asia, the United States and Australia can have different preferences to those here in the United Kingdom. Therefore, it’s crucial for retailers to have multiple delivery solutions and offer consumers choice. 

As we move into the post-COVID-19 world, data will be key to understanding any consumer market trends which may occur. Understanding these trends can help us provide greater insight to our retailers so they can meet customer demand (and help to exceed expectations), along with providing the right solution in over 220 countries and territories.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

We are looking forward to seeing the creative innovations and improvements e-tailers have leveraged to adjust their business. Businesses across the globe have had to make drastic changes to their models to ensure they can continue to do business and trade globally. It’s exciting to see how retailers incorporate new technologies and processes to engage their consumers, enhancing the customer experience.

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

The demand for ecommerce will continue to grow, increasing pressures on the global supply chain. It will be those that are innovative and make changes in their supply chain who will succeed. This further reiterates that companies must remain nimble during these unprecedented times and work with trusted providers who can help with exporting challenges that might arise.

Anchor Magnets

Anchor Magnets

Anchor Magnets has supported numerous industries such as retail, printing and signage for over 35 years. Our secret? We just love what we do!  Because of this, our specialist knowledge and expertise make us a leader in magnetic and attractive products in the UK & Europe.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

It’s fantastic. We find it intriguing how one sector can provide so many different ideas and take on improving the retail experience for consumers and their local community, with continuous innovation. It’s such a significant date because for one day only, it brings together all of the leading retailers to share ideas and showcase everything that’s good in the world of retail.

We think there are two trends in particular that have stood out the most in 2021. The move to online shopping and the big shift to a cashless society. The pandemic has seen the world around us change, and as a result, shopping habits have also changed. With people not being able to visit their local high street, consumers have had to adapt to shopping online. Further to this, when the high street and other shopping facilities reopened, the majority had to adopt a cashless system to combat the spread of COVID-19. We knew we were heading towards a cashless society, but the pandemic accelerated the change by a significant amount.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

Sadly, so many businesses have closed since the pandemic began, so we’re really looking forward to seeing all of the businesses that have survived and how they have changed as a result. It will be exciting to see all of the new ideas emerging from businesses and how they have adapted to a new retail environment post pandemic.

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

2022 is looking like it’ll be an interesting year for the retail industry, with new consumer habits and buying behaviours. We think there’ll be a merge between social media and ecommerce, with more and more people buying directly from social media. TikTok has also become huge since the pandemic began, so we’re predicting more brands will reach out to influencers to increase their reach and increase sales across the board. However, whilst ecommerce has boomed during the pandemic, we firmly believe the high street will bounce back because you can’t beat an outdoor shopping experience!

Kardex

Kardex Remstar

Kardex is a world-leading provider of warehouse solutions, specialising in streamlining the management of stock before shipping to customers/stores etc. This means that in the event of strong growth or higher demands for faster handling of goods, there is no need to build or move to larger premises. Our warehouse solutions provide 80 to 90 per cent better utilisation of space, faster picking, retrieval and returns management to meet customer demands.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar? 

People’s buying habits have changed radically since COVID-19, bringing online purchasing forward by a good five years. Kardex wanted to support the Good Retail Awards to show support for an award that recognises today’s challenges in the retail sector in regard to delivering goods to customers. For retail, the task of putting together an order made up of differing stock across a myriad of product ranges is much more complex and makes the significance of recognising the awards at this monumental time in history particularly poignant and Kardex are pleased to add our support.

The rapid digitalisation in society that we have seen in recent years means that there has been a move to a different management model for stock storage, processing and distribution. Demand for greater efficiency and speed within the order process means a faster time to markets. Retail companies are now reviewing their inventory management process to meet customers’ requirements. We are seeing that it’s no longer efficient to have a completely manual process and the need to speed up via automation is what we are seeing for our customers to remain competitive.

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

Innovation is recognised by the Good Retail Awards and we believe this is a major incentive for many retail focused companies to benefit their customers and be recognised for their efforts. Awards deliver a recognition of operational excellence and great customer invention and we are happy to sponsor them during this period of fast change. 

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

These are times of great change and change brings visionaries, new innovation and smarter processes to make life easier for both the retail industry and their customers.  In the end, it’s about connecting with customers, making life simpler and easier and at the same time delivering on the promise. The market has stated that retailers with a strong digital offering will gain additional sales in the next five years and Kardex is seeing significant growth in automating order processing for many of our retail customers. Delivering a truly cost-effective automated solution has been our focus across many industries for decades and creating bespoke solutions tailored for the retail industry is enabling growth and we see this trend continuing in 2022.

Adstral

Adstral Fulfilment

Adstral is an experienced and preferred 3PL fulfilment partner for many retailers, helping online businesses and subscription services deliver items securely and competitively.  We store, pick, pack, and despatch thousands of items every day through our skilled team of fulfilment specialists, who are committed to providing a first-class service to our clients and their customers.  Our advanced order processing system integrates with all leading ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, eBay, and Amazon with a 5pm deadline for same-day shipping.

1. How does it feel to be sponsoring the Good Retail Awards 2022 and why is it such a significant date in the retail calendar?

Awards of this type and calibre are eagerly anticipated by retailers as it provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all that is innovative and creative in this vibrant industry. It gives emerging brands the chance to be recognised by their peers and established names the opportunity to showcase new products and services. And, in these tentative pandemic times, it can provide a sound reason to cautiously get together with like-minded people, colleagues, and industry leaders to learn about opportunities and challenges for retail going forward.

We have seen a significant increase in the number of online sales and subscription services on offer, with everything from gin, coffee, health supplements, beauty and wellbeing items, craft and shaving kits, confectionery and spectacles. It is a retail explosion, driven initially by COVID-19 and lockdowns but now fuelled by the benefits and enjoyment that customers receive from this way of shopping.

Additionally, the emergence of low-budget pop-up shops utilising vacant retail space is evolving into a growing trend. During the pandemic, commercial rents have dropped significantly and some local authorities are even waiving business rates. These quick-install stores are certainly worth watching. 

3. What are you looking forward to seeing from the Good Retail Awards entries?

I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how retailers stepped up to the huge challenges that have faced us during the recent pandemic months. Traditional retail has suffered severe supply chain issues, declining high street footfall and now staffing issues. I’m interested to learn how retailers have embraced innovation and creativity to overcome these challenges and help secure the future of their brands and businesses.

4. Tell us more about your outlook for the retail industry in 2022.

I believe it will continue to be driven by customers seeking faster and easier ways to access and purchase goods, which will fuel even faster deliveries and better customer service. Retailers that listen and react to customer demand will continue to thrive. Furthermore, innovative retailers will adopt ‘blue-sky’ thinking to consider how their products can be delivered regularly into customers’ hands. Almost certainly, this will lead to even further growth in online consumer spending.

Read more about the Good Retail Awards 2022

Winners of the Good Retail Awards 2022 will receive industry recognition, a trophy and multi-channel industry PR. Click here to find out more about the Good Retail Awards 2022.

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