Categories 2018
RETAILER CATEGORIES
Bridalwear Retailer of the Year – England
This award aims to recognise the bridalwear retailer that has excelled in all areas of their business over the past 12 months. This is a wide ranging category which may include, for instance, anything from providing great customer service, initiatives taken to attract new business, exceptional business results and the actions that set you apart from other retailers. Please provide specific examples in all of your answers, and statistics or supporting materials where possible.
Please note:
All entries must relate to the past 12 months. This category is open to bridal wear retailers in England only.
Bridalwear Retailer of the Year – Ireland
This award aims to recognise the bridalwear retailer that has excelled in all areas of their business over the past 12 months. This is a wide ranging category which may include, for instance, anything from providing great customer service, initiatives taken to attract new business, exceptional business results and the actions that set you apart from other retailers. Please provide specific examples in all of your answers, and statistics or supporting materials where possible.
Please note:
All entries must relate to the past 12 months. This category is open to bridalwear retailers in Ireland only.
Bridalwear Retailer of the Year – Scotland
This award aims to recognise the bridalwear retailer that has excelled in all areas of their business over the past 12 months. This is a wide ranging category which may include, for instance, anything from providing great customer service, initiatives taken to attract new business, exceptional business results and the actions that set you apart from other retailers. Please provide specific examples in all of your answers, and statistics or supporting materials where possible.
Please note:
All entries must relate to the past 12 months. This category is open to bridalwear retailers in Scotland only.
Bridalwear Retailer of the Year – Wales
This award aims to recognise the bridalwear retailer that has excelled in all areas of their business over the past 12 months. This is a wide ranging category which may include, for instance, anything from providing great customer service, initiatives taken to attract new business, exceptional business results and the actions that set you apart from other retailers. Please provide specific examples in all of your answers, and statistics or supporting materials where possible.
Please note:
All entries must relate to the past 12 months. This category is open to bridalwear retailers in Wales only.
New Bridawear Retailer of the Year
This category is open to bridalwear retailers who opened their business on or after September 2016. The judges are looking for details of the challenges faced as a new business, how they were overcome and the lessons that were learnt.
Please note: This category is open to retailers who opened in or after September 2016
NEW Best Mens’ Formalwear Retailer
This award aims to recognise the best men’s formalwear retailer that has excelled in all areas of their business over the past 12 months. This is a wide ranging category which may include, for instance, anything from providing great customer service, initiatives taken to attract new business, exceptional business results and the actions that set you apart from other retailers. Please provide specific examples in all of your answers, and statistics or supporting materials where possible. Please note: All entries must relate to the past 12 months.
Long-standing Retailer of the Year
Best Retailer Customer Service of the Year
This category will look at the extent in which your customer service met the needs of your customers, whether the service was consistent throughout the business and the demonstrable business benefits that have been achieved through customer service.
Retailer Website of the Year
The role of technology has grown exponentially over the past few years, and is now a crucial part of the way brides interact with your business. This award aims to highlight the retailer websites that have improved the experience of the customer, and the level of customer service that shops are able to provide.
Best In-Store Design
This category is open to all bridal industry retailers and all sizes of store, new and refurbished. The judges will be looking for innovation and creativity in the design of the store, which should be in the UK. They will also be looking at how the design contributed to an uplift in sales.
SUPPLIER CATEGORIES
Best Bridalwear Manufacturer of the Year
The winning bridalwear manufacturer will be able to demonstrate its superior position in the market and its outstanding business performance. The judges will be looking out for how the business has grown in sales and profit, improved customer service and exploited new opportunities for growth over the past 12 months. Bridalwear manufacturers of all sizes are able to enter.
Best Bridesmaid Collection of the Year
This category is open to designers and manufacturers who have a bridesmaid collection. The judges will be looking for information on how the collection was produced, and the reception that it has received since launch. You will also be required to provide images of the collection to support your entry.
NEW Best Prom Collection of the Year
This category is open to designers and manufacturers who have a prom collection. The judges will be looking for information on how the collection was produced, and the reception that it has received since launch. You will also be required to provide images of the collection to support your entry.
NEW Best Mother-of-the-Bride Collection of the Year
This category is open to designers and manufacturers who have a MOB collection. The judges will be looking for information on how the collection was produced, and the reception that it has received since launch. You will also be required to provide images of the collection to support your entry.
Best Supplier Customer Service of the Year
This category will look at the level of support provided to stockists, and the demonstrable business benefits that have been achieved through exceptional customer service.
Best Plus-Size Collection of the Year
This category is open to designers and manufacturers who have launched a Plus Size Collection. The judges will be looking for information on how the collection was produced, and the reception that it has received since launch. You will also be required to provide images of the collection to support your entry.
NEW Best Headdress Collection of the Year
This category is open to designers and manufacturers who have launched a headdress Collection. The judges will be looking for information on how the collection was produced, and the reception that it has received since launch. You will also be required to provide images of the collection to support your entry.
SPECIAL CATEGORIES
Student Designer of the Year
Students from colleges up and down the country are invited to submit their entries in the Student Designer of the Year category in the Bridal Buyer Awards 2018, which is open to Foundation degree 2nd-year students and 2nd- and 3rd-year BA design students. Submissions must be tutor-approved and signed off as qualifying. Together with sponsor the BBSA (British Bridal Suppliers Association) we will be looking for 12 finalists... young talents who will make a difference to the future of bridal.
Wedding Dress of the Year
Finalists in this category are dresses picked from the collections of the finalists int he previous year’s Best Bridalwear Manufacturer category. The selected dresses are hosted on the National Wedding Show website, where brides to be vote for their favourite. Simply, the one with the most votes wins the title!
Best British Bridalwear Designer of the Year
Nominations come from over 20 industry experts, the majority of whom are designers themselves. Each gets to suggest their top three nominations and points are awarded accordingly.
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