Internet Retailing Award : The popular vote went to sex toys retailer Lovehoney

The cream of the UK’s online and multichannel industry gathered at London’s Heron Tower last night for the Internet Retailing Awards 2013.

Hundreds of partygoers queued around the block as they waited to be whisked in glass-fronted lifts, travelling at 24mps, to the full-to-capacity event, eager to find which of the commended retailers had won the coveted winner’s title in each of ten categories.

The party was held at SushiSamba, 663ft up in London’s Heron Tower, London’s highest restaurant. Partygoers enjoyed views across the City of London and far beyond from the two terrace and balcony of the restaurant, while also meeting up with friends and colleagues from across the industry.

Internet Retailing editor-in-chief Ian Jindal told a packed hall that commended retailers and overall award winners represented leading players in a multichannel industry that was recognised and respected across the world.

The overall Judges Award went to Asos, who also won the International award. Kate Boyle of Asos said: “We feel immensely privileged to be a winner. It’s always a great pleasure to be at events like this one. We’re always immensely chuffed that we keep winning – thank you!”

The popular vote went to sex toys retailer Lovehoney, who won the Internet Retailing Award, voted for by Internet Retailing readers. Matt Curry, head of ecommerce at Lovehoney, said, “As a company we punch way above our weight. Here you have your Asoses, your Burberrys, your Tescos, your eBays and then you have little old Lovehoney who come en masse, we make a big fuss, we bring freebies, we make a big noise and it’s really fun. It’s nice that we’re being heard, and it’s nice to get the validation and recognition. Even though we’re a little company on the outskirts of Bath, we can still come up to posh London and get given an award. It’s lovely.”

Winners in each of the eight award categories were:

The Innovation Award, presented by Steve Dukes, head of award sponsor Paylater, went to Burberry, in a category where the other commended retailers were Made.com, M&S and Topshop.

The Omni Award, presented by Sam Suder, senior account manager at award sponsor Portaltech Reply, went to Oasis/Warehouse in a category where the other commended retailers were Debenhams, Tesco, and John Lewis.

The M-Retailing Award, presented by Lorraine Howard, retail operations director of sponsor NoNeed4Mirrors, went to eBay marketplace in a category where the other commended retailers were Amazon, Debenhams, Domino’s Pizza and the Net a Porter group.

The IRIS Award presented by Dan Mortimer, chief executive of sponsor Red Ant, went to Burberry in a category where commended retailers also included Apple, Dixons and M&S.

The Customer Award, presented by Allyson Tremblay, UK sales director of sponsor SDL Fredhopper, went to Lakeland in a category where commended winners also included House of Fraser, John Lewis and Lovehoney.

The Capability Award, presented by Bas Nawijn, head of sales EMEA at sponsor Magento, went to Amazon in a category where commended retailers also included Asos, B&Q/Screwfix/Tradepoint, and John Lewis.

The International Award, presented by PatrickWall, chief executive of sponsor MetaPack, went to Asos, in a category where commended retailers also included Net a Porter, Wiggle and Zalando.

Finally, the Global Award presented by Terry Hunter, chief executive of sponsor Tryzens, went to Tesco in a category where commended retailers also included Asos, H&M and Net a Porter.

The Internet Retailing Award was presented by Eric Abensur, chief executive of Venda, to Lovehoney, and the Judges Award was presented by Ray Fowler, of Ernst & Young, representing the judging panel, to Asos.