Wiggle beats titans of retail to prestigious innovation award

Verenti – Wiggle’s unique brand of sportive bikes – won the Product Innovation title at last night’s Oracle Retail Awards, triumphing over Waitrose, Tesco, Boots, The Conran Group and Asda to take the win. With entries from almost every major retailer in the UK, simply reaching the shortlist was an achievement in itself. Wiggle had also been shortlisted in two other categories: Non Store Retailer of the Year and Growing Retailer of the Year.

More than 1,600 retailers gathered at the awards ceremony, widely regarded as the Oscars of the retailing world, at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Among them was Wiggle’s director of marketing Martin Talbot.

He said:

“Achieving a nomination at these awards – let alone winning one – is an extremely creditable thing to do as they are open to every retailer in the country. It is a testament to Wiggle and our hardworking staff that we achieved three nominations. To go one step further on the night and win the award for Product Innovation of the Year for Verenti is terrific. To have taken the title over the likes of Waitrose, Tesco and Boots is a great achievement and demonstrates that Wiggle has a place among the best retailers in the country.”

Tim Danaher, editor of Retail Week, said:

“The quality of entries this year was extraordinary, as you can see from our list of finalists. Wiggle’s story is truly remarkable, reflecting the entrepreneurship which is the lifeblood of the retail industry. The ability to develop an own label brand as a growing online business highlights what a forward thinking business Wiggle is.”

Of Verenti, he added:

“Spotting a gap in the market as sportive events continued to boom, Wiggle assembled a dedicated in-house team of designers, researchers and testers to develop the Verenti range specifically for these type of events.”

Wiggle is quickly growing accustomed to glitzy award ceremonies, having won the Cross Border e-Retail title at the e-Commerce Awards for Excellence last October as well as BikeBiz’s Online Retailer of the Year for the second year running. Last summer, Experian Hitwise UK named Wiggle as Britain’s most visited bike website for the first half of 2010, a title it has enjoyed every year since 2006. Wiggle was also ranked fourth overall in the sport and fitness retail industry sector. And the accolades don’t stop there: for seven years running Wiggle has won Best Mail Order Company in 220 Triathlon Magazine’s awards.