The 2016 Images RetailME Awards, which recognise Middle East’s best retailers, were presented at a gala ceremony held at the Conrad hotel Dubai, UAE.

The awards recognise excellence across a range of retail categories, turning the spotlight on the best performing retailers in the region and benchmarking best practices in this vibrant industry. The awards ceremony is among the most important dates in the Middle East Retail calendar.

Among the winners in 39 different categories were Fawaz Alhokair  named Middle East Retailer of the Year; Jumbo Electronics in the Consumer Electronics category; Virgin Megastore in the Leisure category; Carrefour in the Hypermarket category; Chalhoub Group’s Level Shoes for Luxury; Apparel Group’s Club Apparel for its CRM initiatives; BinSina (Alphamed Pharmacy) under Pharmacy & Healthcare category; Homes R Us in the Home & Housewares category; Paul Café under Food Service (Casual Dining); Eataly for Fine Dining and Rising Star Retailer; and Shamiana under QSR, to name a few.

The RetailME Awards gala evening was presented by a leading media personality and anchor from India Mitali Mukherjee. A known voice in the Dubai music scene, Layla Kardan set the mood to the gala evening with her soulful and sultry voice.

Amitabh Taneja, chairman of the Images Group, said: “We thank every member of our jury for sparing the time and effort to evaluate the submissions and compile the results.

In order to make the judging process for the awards more competitive and transparent, the awards categories were segregated into self-nomination and industry nominated jury awards. Under the self-nomination category, retailers were free to nominate themselves in any of the eight categories – marketing campaign, social media campaign, retail launch, store design, online retailer, store manager, CRM initiatives and responsible retailer.

Their submissions were evaluated and judged by a jury comprising Mohammad Alawi, CEO of Red Sea Markets Co, Saudi Arabia; Roy Higgs, president of US- based Roy Higgs International; Alex Andarakis, founder & managing director of Dubai-based Andarakis Advisory Services, Dubai; Davide Padoa, CEO of UK-based Design International; and Maha Zeibak, principal of Vis a Vis Retail.

For the industry-nominated jury awards, the group conducted a survey covering more than 50 of the top regional shopping malls to short-list the best performing retailers at their malls and elsewhere. The names emerging from the survey were subsequently vetted by a panel of veterans and experts from the shopping centre industry that included Khalid S Al Jasser, CEO, Arabian Centres, Saudi Arabia; Brad Merchant, director, retail asset management at Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi; Mohamed Galal, chairman, TSM, Egypt; Mazen Qandeel, leasing director, Hamat Properties Company, Saudi Arabia; Christian Wistrom, general manager – leasing, GLA Management Company; and Andrew Williamson, director, head MENA retail.

The process helped nominate more than 250 of the top-performing brands under 29 categories.

Images RetailME Awards 2016 winner list

Self- nomination awards categories
1. Marketing Campaign of the Year - ENOC    
2. Social Media Campaign of the Year - Centrepoint         
3. Retail Launch of the Year- Level Kids     
4 a) Store Design of the Year  – Fashion, footwear and accessories- Level Kids          
4 b) Store Design of the Year  – Others - Rituals Cosmetics          
5. Online Retailer of the Year - Virginmegastore.ae          
6. Store Manager of the Year -Milinda Samarartne (Home Centre )          
7. Retailer of the Year, CRM Initiatives - Club Apparel    
8 Responsible Retailer of the Year - THE One
9. Large Format Store - Centrepoint
    
Industry Nominated Jury Awards Categories:    
10. Retailer of the Year – Fashion (Premium) - Tommy Hilfiger
11. Retailer of the Year – Fast Fashion - Zara
12. Retailer of the Year – Affordable Fashion - REDTAG
13. Retailer of the Year – Lingerie & Nightwear -Nayomi
14. Retailer of the Year – Gold & Jewellery -Malabar Gold & Diamonds
15. Retailer of the Year – Watches & Accessories - Paris Gallery
16 a) Retailer of the Year – Footwear & Accessories ( Single Brand) - Aldo
16 b)Retailer of the Year – Footwear & Accessories  ( Multi Brand) -Shoe Mart
17 Retailer of the Year – Sportswear   - Sun & Sand Sports
18 Retailer of the Year – Children's Wear - Babyshop
19. Retailer of the Year – Beauty & Personal Care Products -Inglot
20. Retailer of the Year – Spa & Wellness Gold’s Gym
21. Retailer of the Year – Pharmacy & Healthcare -Bin Sina (Alphamed Pharmacy)
22.  Retailer of the Year – Home & Housewares - Homes R Us
23. Retailer of the Year – Consumer Electronics- Jumbo Electronics
24. Retailer of the Year – Entertainment (Themed Indoor & Outdoor centres)- Ski Dubai
25. Retailer of the Year – Entertainment (Indoor Amusement & Edutainment centres)- Faby Land
26.  Retailer of the Year – Cinema -Reel Cinemas
27  Retailer of the Year – Leisure - Virgin Megastore
28 Retailer of the Year – Food & Grocery - Géant  Easy
29. Retailer of the Year – Hypermarke -Carrefour
30 Retailer of the Year – Food Service (QSR) - Shamiana
31 Retailer of the Year – Food Service (Casual Dining)- Paul Café
32  Retailer of the Year – Food Service (Fine Dining) - Eataly
33 Retailer of the Year – Luxury -Level Shoes
34. Retailer of the Year – Department Store -Paris Gallery
35. Rising Star Retailer of the Year - Eataly
36. International Retailer of the Year - Sacoor Brothers
37- Middle East Retailer of the Year - Fawaz Alhokair