The Oracle Retail Week Awards 2012 were another great success, building on the legacy of previous award ceremonies. Over 1,600 of the UK's top retailers gathered at the Grosvenor House Hotel and many of Europe's top retail leaders attended the prestigious Oracle Retail VIP Reception in the Grosvenor House Hotel's Red Bar. Over the years the Oracle Retail Week Awards have become a rallying point for the morale of the retail industry, and each nominated retailer served as a demonstration that the industry is fighting fit. It was an honour to speak to so many figureheads of UK - and global - retail.

All of us at Oracle Retail would like to congratulate both the winners and the nominees for the awards. Retail is a cornerstone of the economy and it was inspiring to see so many outstanding demonstrations of innovation and dedication in the entries.

Winners 2012

 

The Market Force Customer Service Initiative of the Year

Winner:
Dixons Retail: Knowhow
Highly Commended:
Hughes Electrical: Digital Switchover

 

 

The Deloitte Employer of the Year

Winner:
Morrisons

 

 

Growing Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Hallett Retail - The Concessions People
Highly Commended:
Blue Inc

 

 

The TCC Marketing/Advertising Campaign of the Year

Winner:
Sainsbury's: Feed your Family for £50

 

 

The Brandbank Multichannel Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Debenhams
Highly Commended:
Halfords

 

 

The Ashton Partnership Product Innovation of the Year

Winner:
Argos: Chad Valley
Highly Commended:
Halfords: Private label bikes

 

 

The RR Donnelley Pure-play Online Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Wiggle

 

 

The Hitachi Consulting Responsible Retailer of the Year

Winner:
B&Q: One Planet Home

 

 

The CA Technologies Retail Technology Initiative of the Year

Winner:
Oasis: Argyll Street flagship launch with iPad PoS

 

 

The Premier Tax Free Speciality Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Holland & Barrett

 

 

Store Design of the Year

Winner:
Next Home and Garden, Shoreham, Sussex
Highly Commended:
Dixons Retail, Black concept store, Birmingham Bullring

 

 

Store Manager of the Year

Winner:
Ian Allcock, Homebase, Aylesford
Highly Commended:
Darren Parfitt, Boots UK, Melton Mowbray Health Centre

 

 

The Wates Retail Destination of the Year

Winner:
Westfield, Stratford

 

 

The AlixPartners Emerging Retail Leader of the Year

Winner:
Catriona Marshall, HobbyCraft, Chief Executive

 

 

The Wipro Retail International Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Apple

 

 

The Clarity Search Retail Leader of the Year

Winner:
Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive, Kingfisher

 

 

The Oracle Retailer of the Year

Winner:
Burberry

 

 

Outstanding Contribution to Retail

Winner:
Lord Harris of Peckham

 

 

Oracle Retail and "Your Experience Platform"

Technology is the key to providing that differentiated retail experience. More specifically, it is what we at Oracle call ‘the experience platform’ - a set of integrated, cross-channel business technology solutions, selected and operated by a retail business and IT team, and deployed in accordance with that organisation’s individual strategy and processes.

This business systems architecture simultaneously:

• Connects customer interactions across all channels and touchpoints, and every customer lifecycle phase to provide a differentiated customer experience that meets consumers’ needs and expectations.
• Delivers actionable insight that enables smarter decisions in planning, forecasting, merchandising, supply chain management, marketing, etc;
• Optimises operations to align every aspect of the retail business to gain efficiencies and economies, to align KPIs to eliminate strategic conflicts, and at the same time be working in support of customer priorities.

 

Working in unison, these three goals not only help retailers to successfully navigate the challenges of today but also to focus on delivering that personalised customer experience based on differentiated products, pricing, services and interactions that will help you to gain market share and grow sales.