Nominations will close on Wednesday, September 14th, for the 2016 WatchPro Awards.
The black tie awards dinner takes place on October 26 in the banquet hall of The Globe Theatre, a faithful recreation of a theatre from the time of William Shakespeare on the banks of the River Thames in London.
The WatchPro Awards are the first of their kind in the UK, and will celebrate the achievements of the retailers, wholesalers and brand offices that represent the world’s best watch businesses.
Fitting with WatchPro’s mission to provide valuable business insight that helps companies profit from the sale of watches in the UK, the WatchPro Awards will highlight business success by individuals and teams, rather than set out to identify the best watches on sale this year.
Judging will be done by a panel of hundreds of business leaders involved in the UK watch industry. A private survey will invite watch brands and wholesalers to vote for the retailers they most admire.
In a separate private survey, retail executives will be asked to vote for the wholesalers and brands that they feel are leading in the market today.
“This is a unique process for the UK. We are not looking to identify the greatest watches on sale today, because UK businesspeople have little influence on products made mostly overseas. Instead, we are searching for the individuals and teams that have created the greatest watch businesses in this country,” explains Daniel Malins, publisher of WatchPro.
“The voting system ensures that these businesses are subjected to the forensic scrutiny of their peers in the industry with retailers voting for the brands and wholesalers they most admire, and the brands and wholesalers voting for the best retailers. There can be no more reliable jury than the hundreds of executives that do business with each other throughout the year,” adds Mr Malins.
WatchPro will create a shortlist of retailers, brands and wholesalers that will then be put to the vote, but all businesspeople in the industry are welcome to nominate their favourites. Simply e-mail Daniel.malins@itppromedia.com with your suggestions in the following categories:
RETAILER CATEGORIES
Independent Fashion Watch Retailer of the Year
Multiple Fashion Watch Retailer of the Year
Independent Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year
Multiple Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year
Department Store Watch Retailer of the Year
Online-only Watch Retailer of the Year
Multi-channel Watch Retailer of the Year
Innovative Watch Retailer of the Year
Branded Watch Boutique of the Year
WATCH BRAND & DISTRIBUTOR CATEGORIES
Marketing and Merchandising Team of the Year
Sales Team of the Year
Service and Support Team of the Year
Executive Leadership Team of the Year
Luxury Watch Brand of the Year
Fashion Watch Brand of the Year
For each nomination, please state the Award Category, your nomination or nominations, a brief explanation for your suggestion, and contact details for the nominee.
The shortlist will be finalised on September 20, with the vote taking place in the final week of September.
Tickets and tables for the WatchPro Awards on October 26 can be bought online at the secure Eventbrite box office.