DALLAS, TX – Finalists for the 2018 Showroom of the Year Awards, honoring exceptional lighting retailers, have been announced. The 9th annual awards program is co-sponsored by Lighting & Decor magazine and Lightovation. Entries are judged on merchandising display, marketing and advertising, customer service and engagement, employee education and motivation, and community involvement.
Winners will be announced at an evening reception on Wednesday, June 20, during Lightovation at Dallas Market Center.
The finalists in all three categories — Revenue Under $2 Million, Revenue Under $5 Million and Revenue $5 Million and Over — will be profiled in Lighting & Decor’s May issue.
Finalists in the Revenue Under $2 Million category are: Alcott & Bentley, Louisville, KY; Denney Electric Supply, Ambler, PA; Elektra Lights & Fans, Inc., Wauwatosa, WI; Village Home Stores, Geneseo, IL; WaterPlace, a Leeps Supply Showroom, Crown Point, IN.
Finalists in the Revenue Under $5 Million category are: Dominion Electric Supply Co., Inc., Laurel, MD; Inline Lighting & Electrical Supply Co., Huntsville, AL; NorthWest Lighting and Accents, Mt. Prospect, IL; Pace Lighting, Savannah, GA; The Lighting House, Shelburne, VT.
Finalists in the Revenue $5 Million and Over category are: Avenues Lighting, Jacksonville, FL; Design Lighting, Surrey, British Columbia; Hermitage Lighting Gallery, Nashville, TN; Idlewood Electric Supply, Inc., Highland Park, IL; Lights Unlimited of Garner, Garner, NC.
“It’s our ninth year honoring independent lighting retailers and the competition remains stiff,” says Lighting & Decor Editor-in-Chief Nicole Davis. “We’ve seen some tremendous creativity among the showroom entrants.”
“Honoring exceptional lighting retailers inside the home of lighting is a distinct honor,” said Cindy Morris, President and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “We look forward to hosting all of the finalists during June Lightovation.”
Awards will be presented in the three dollar-volume categories at the June 20 reception. All finalists will also be eligible for three specialty awards: Outstanding Merchandising Display, Exceptional Community Involvement and Social Media Star, an award that industry members help select on Lighting & Decor’s Facebook page.
Once again, 50 percent of the scoring for the Social Media Star Award will be determined by “likes” posted to finalist profiles within the Showroom of the Year Social Media Star Event on Lighting & Decor magazine’s Facebook page through May 10, 2018 (www.Facebook.com/LightingandDecorMag). Official judges’ scores complete the remaining 50 percent of scoring for that category.
To determine the six award winners, the finalists’ entries are reviewed by a panel of accomplished judges: Stacy Garcia, a renowned designer and founder of a textile supplier company and a design house who has lifestyle brands including Stacy Garcia | New York, Stay by Stacy Garcia, and Stacy Garcia Commercial; Greg O’Neal, CCO/Co-founder of CUR8, who has curated, designed and licensed products for the national and international home furnishings industry for 25+ years; and Richard Sexton, Chief Product Officer for MicroD, which offers integrated online product presentation, websites and ecommerce for the home furnishings industry. Sexton has more than 20 years of experience in retail and technology.
For more information on the Showroom of the Year Awards presentation at Lightovation, visit: dallasmarketcenter.com. For more information on Lighting & Decor’s magazine, digital products and events, visit: lightinganddecormag.com.
