The big winners of “50 Years PLAISIO – RetailBusiness Awards 2019”

With Metro/My market as the major protagonist, the 17th Awards ceremony was concluded for the competition “50 Years PLAISIO – RetailBusiness Awards 2019”, as the company was selected as Retailer of the Year, while its CEO Aristotelis Panteliadis, was honoured with the Retail Manager award. The great celebration of Retail Trade and Industry was held on Monday 18 February at the Athens Concert Hall, in the presence of more than 600 executives of the Retail, Industry, and Communications market, as well as representatives from the world of journalism. The hosts for the evening were journalist Dimitris Kampourakis and the athlete and presenter Dora Panteli.

Fully updated and following the trends and the needs of the market, the “50 Years PLAISIO – Retails Business Awards 2019” introduced in this year’s competition, for the first time, new award categories, both for retailers as well as suppliers, always true to their logic and philosophy that the awards must result through clear and completely transparent and merit-based procedures.

It should be mentioned that the winners, for yet another year, were selected following evaluation and voting by a wide-ranging evaluation committee, in which representatives from 19 institutional organisations and institutes of the Greek market participated (SEVT, IFES, ESVEP, NCHC, GRECA,HAA, the Franchise Association of Greece, HRBA, SEV, IELKA, European Communication Institute, Supply Chain Institute, IAB Hellas, SEPOA HMA, IPE, ECR Hellas, HIM and the Greek Marketing Academy), heads of data and research companies (GfK, IRI, Nielsen) and recognised representatives of academia, with KPMG constituting, this year also, being the competition’s audit body.

Suppliers of the Year, based on the survey that was carried out once again, exclusively for the magazine RetailBusiness and for Direction Business Network, by the Athens University of Economics, with Professors Giorgos Panigyrakis as scientific head, included Unilever Hellas (Non Food), Barba Stathis (Food & Drink), B/S/H (Appliances and Audiovisual Equipment) and Huwaei Hellas (Technology).

In addition, Honorary Awards were granted to Lidl Hellas for its successful 20 years in our country, to Plaisio for its 50-year anniversary of activity, and to AB Vassilopoulos for being present on the Greek market for 80 years. OPAP was honoured with the Rising Star award for developing the Play network, while REDS received the Retail Investment Award for its significant expansion at Smart Park.

 

The statements by the protagonists

“Today marks 17 years of a continued presence, which is clear proof on the one hand of the importance of the tradition, and on the other of the momentum of the market and its people”, mentioned the publisher of Direction Business network, Vangelis Papalios, in his welcome speech, adding that “our long-standing principle, moreover, and our sole objective from the very beginning was to support and honour Values and Excellency. This is the “secret” to success and, thanks to this logic it established itself, essentially from its very first steps, as the most important and distinguished tradition for Retail Trade and Industry in Greece, and one of the most important in Greek Business.”

On his part, Retail Manager Aristotelis Panteliadis, who is also the Managing Director of Metro/My market, selected Retailer of the Year, stated the following regarding the double award: “I am very happy about the two awards, because I believe that they pertain to our entire team and all the work we did and completed after a three-year plan to incorporate Veropoulos, which was crowned with success. We worked a great deal and very hard but, at the same time, it was a process that was exciting and interesting. We had planned a three-year course including all the stages. Now that this period has passed, I can say that we truly achieved everything we had planned. Of course, we must continue to better ourselves, and to meet the needs of consumers in the best possible way. We cannot stop improving, and this is what we will do. I hope that the most difficult part is behind us, and that we can be optimistic about the future. Nonetheless, better things won’t come on their own. We must work and strive towards this.”

Additionally, George Gerardos, Chairman and CEO of Plaisio Computers, which was the Title Sponsor of the competition, in his introductory greeting, referred to the 50-year landmark which the chain is celebrating this year, and set the tone for the future, stressing that “we have profited all 50 years. We profited during the recession and we had very good cashflow. What we are proud of is the fact that, during the entire duration of the recession, we did not reduce the salary of any employee. We are now entering 2019 with half a century of history, experience, and absolute trust. This is the heritage offered to us by our 50 years. We will therefore forget the recession and make new investments. A new generation of executives follows, the great team of 1,500 people we have, and to whom we owe our success. Thus we move forward to the next cycle of growth. We deserve it, as does Greek society.”

The Competition

The “50 Years PLAISIO – RetailBusiness Awards 2019” were organised by Direction Business Network and the magazine RetailBusiness, and were held, as they are every year, under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and Development. They were organised in collaboration with the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) and the Hellenic Retail Business Association (HRBA), while KPMG Sworn Auditors S.A., for the 14th year in a row, was the competition’s audit body, safeguarding the validity of the process.

Plaisio was the title sponsor, while OPAP was the Major Sponsor. AB Vassilopoulos was a sponsor in the categories “Supplier of the Year” Food & Drink and Non Food, and My Market was a sponsor for the categories Supplier’s CSR Campaign, Supplier’s Brand Campaign, and Supplier’s Social Media Campaign. Wind was the Telecoms Provider, and sponsors included Sklavenitis, Dimello, West Sales & Marketing Agency, EVIN Intzoglou, Zagori Natural Mineral Water, Screens Hellas and Tzortzis S.A., while Official Partners included Ogilvy, The Design Agency, ImagePro, Music4Media, flexbook, Future Μodels Management and Greek Wine Cellars. In addition, the competition was supported by Pressious Arvanitidis (Printing), Polichromo (Digital Printing) and Mass Courier (Courier Services) Web communications sponsors included Advertising.gr, BusinessNews.gr and Euro2day.gr, while the television communications sponsor was SBC.

 

*A detailed table follows which includes all the winners.

VOTED PRODUCT OF THE YEAR GREECE 2019: The market’s most innovative products received awards

Products that stand out for their innovation received awards on Monday, 11 February, at the Awards Ceremony of the internationally acclaimed and distinguished tradition “Voted Product of the Year” whose representation has been undertaken by Direction Business Network since 2018.

In the first competition of the tradition’s new era in Greece, products from 19 different categories managed to stand out and will be able to bear the logo “Voted Product of the Year 2019”. The awards were distributed in the packed Banquet Hall of the Athens Concert Hall, with business executives, representatives of institutional organisations, journalists, and members of the academic community honouring the important evening through their attendance.

In detail, the following were named “Voted Product of the Year”: Tsakiris Cooked by Coca-Cola 3E (Chips) Duck® Fresh Discs by SC Johnson Hellas (Toilet Bowl Cleaner), Chrysi Zymi Pizza in 3 Flavours by Barba Stathis (Frozen Pizza), Nescafé Gold by Nestlé Hellas (Instant Coffee), Allatini Goodness In Me by Elbisco (Cereal Cookies), Fuzetea by Coca-Cola Hellas (Iced Tea), Pampers Pants by Procter & Gamble Hellas (Children’s Diapers – Underpants), Pedigree Dentastix Daily Oral Care by Mars Hellas (Pet Care), Bionol Outdoor by Rolco VIANIL (Multipurpose Cleansers), Uncle Ben’s Ready to Heat Rice by Mars Hellas (Ready to Heat Rice), Everyday Ultra Plus Sensitive with Cotton by Mega Personal Hygiene Products (Sensitive Pads), Green Cola & Family by Green Cola Hellas (Stevia Soft Drinks with Flavors), Optimum by Media Strom (Mattresses), Vodafone TV by Vodafone Hellas (Subscription IPTV), Zewa Deluxe by Essity Hellas (Tissue – Toilet Paper), v-Banking by Eurobank (E-banking for Business), bleep by Alpha Bank (Pre-paid Credit Card), Fairy Ultra by Procter & Gamble Hellas (Dish Liquid) and Rol Black by Rolco VIANIL (Washing Machine Liquid). You can see them here: https://www.productoftheyear.gr/nikites-2019/

The products that participated were initially evaluated by the Specialist Audit Committee, which was composed of professionals from the field of commerce, specialists from fields such as marketing and mass media, as well as representatives of business and institutional organisations, in order to ensure that the criteria of innovation are met. Those selected were included in a large consumer survey that was conducted electronically by IRI, and in which 2,600 men and women participated, between the ages of 18-65.

Phillippe Gelder, President & CEO of Voted Product of the Year Worldwide, attended the Awards Ceremony, who stated, inter alia: “I am very pleased and proud to be here this evening for the first Awards Ceremony organised by Direction Business Network in Greece. Pleased because after several years of absence and difficulties, we return to this market which is worthy of recognition for its innovative products. Proud because, in Vangelis and Konstantinos Papalios, we have found the suitable partners, to place our concept as the top award that results from a vote by consumers which helps to recognise the innovation of brands and bolster their sales.”

On his part, Evangelos Papalios, Publisher-Director of Direction Business Network, mentioned that in this first competition in the new age of the tradition, important steps were taken towards its strengthening in our country. “The common goal was for it to acquire the splendour and value it deserves in the Greek market, and I believe that we have already begun to achieve this. This year’s maiden competition constitutes our “pilot.” We now have a complete and clear picture of everything we must strengthen, as well as everything we must maintain. I feel that already, starting from the next competition, we will have taken even further steps towards our goal”, he stated, while adding that the innovative products that stood out in this year’s competition, which will bear the logo “Voted Product of the Year 2019” are the best proof that “despite the difficult circumstances and the adverse economic situation of recent years, healthy forces still exist in the Greek market. There are businesses that invest in innovation, driving the categories in which they are active towards growth”.

Voted Product of the Year is the largest and most important awards tradition internationally which is related to the innovation of consumer products and services, with awards being granted following a vote by the consuming public. It began in France in 1987 and is now organised in more than 45 countries around the world, with the same purpose: to showcase new innovative products on the market and to award companies that create them, for their investment and faith in innovation.

 

For more information, interested parties can contact:

Direction Business Network: Annita Kremli, Account Manager, Voted Product of the Year, tel: 210 77 12 400.

18 February is the celebration of retail trade

On Monday, 18 February, the great celebration of retail trade and industry was held at the Athens Concert Hall, the Awards Ceremony “50 Years PLAISIO – Retails Business Awards 2019”, organised for the 17th year in a row by Direction and the magazine RetailBusiness.

RETAILBUSINESS AWARDS, the distinguished tradition in the field, just like every year, falls under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance & Development and are carried out in cooperation with Hellenic Retail Business Association (HRBA) and the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE).

Plaisio is the title sponsor, while OPAP is the Major Sponsor. AB Vassilopoulos is a sponsor in the categories “Supplier of the Year” Food & Drink and Non Food, and My Market is a sponsor for the categories Supplier’s CSR Campaign, Supplier’s Brand Campaign, and Supplier’s Social Media Campaign. Wind is the Telecoms Provider, and sponsors include Sklavenitis, Dimello, West, Evin Intzoglou, Zagori, and Screens Hellas. Official Partners include Ogilvy, The Design Agency, ImagePro, Music4Media, flexbook, and Future Models Management.

In addition, the organization is supported by Pressious Arvanitidis (Printing), Polichromo (Digital Printing) and Mass Courier (Courier Services). KPMG is the audit body for yet another year, while it is reminded that the Evaluation Committee is comprised of representatives of the market’s most important organisations (Supply Chain Institute, SEV, ΗΑΑ, IFES, ESVEP, HIM, NCHC, HRBA, IELKA, IAB Hellas, SEVT, HMA, IPE, SEPOA, ECR Hellas, ECI, GMA, GRECA, the Franchise Association of Greece, market research companies (GFK, IRI, Nielsen) and academic institutions.