Ongoing corporate transformation at Tusker Mattresses Limited (TML), popularly known as Tuskys, has received global commendation at the 4th World Branding Awards held at the Kensington Palace in London last evening.
TML which runs the Tuskys supermarkets won the Kenya Supermarket Brand of the Year category in the awards which focus on branding excellence. The World Branding Awards is the premier awards of the World Branding Forum for corporates from the Commonwealth and beyond.
Tuskys Chief Executive Officer, Dan Githua said the award would fuel the retailer’s commitment to deepen the value of formal retail trade in Kenya. “This award will also serve to accelerate our commitments to rollout innovative retail solutions for the benefit of all our stakeholders including suppliers and customers,” Mr Githua said.
Tuskys has also been adjudged East Africa Superbrand Top 20 and Samsung Africa’s most valued distributor in East Africa award winner. Alongside Tuskys, Safaricom Limited and Royal Media Services, Citizen TV brand also picked national category awards presented by World Branding Forum Chairman, Richard Rowles.
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The judges said Tuskys showcased superb progress in its efforts to separate ownership and management functions, allowing the brand to maintain measurable management and customer experience standards. Earlier this year, Tuskys in partnership with DTB Bank and KCB unveiled a Ksh3 billion supplier finance scheme. The scheme allows Tuskys suppliers to enjoy prompt payments for goods and services supplied to the retailer.
In a contemporary market, the correlation between branding excellence and corporate governance remains a key pillar for business success.
As part of the firm’s transformation journey in the last two years, Tuskys, with a branch network of 60 stores in Kenya (53) and Uganda (7) has successfully managed to adopt world class retail standards and corporate governance structures.
An internship programme established by the retailer two years ago targeting to train unemployed youth in retail management disciplines also received the judges’ commendation. So far, the programme has impacted more than 5,000 youth and is expected to impact more than 10,000 youth in the next 5 years.
SEE: Tuskys and Nakumatt reach joint management deal
The awards celebrate the achievements of some of the greatest brands in the world. “All 245 winners have shown that they are at the very top of their branding game. With so many in competition, it is difficult for brands to win in their respective categories,” said Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum.
This year saw an increase in participation of the awards. Over 135,000 consumers from around the world voted for more than 3,000 brands from 35 countries. Not all categories are awarded and some countries do not have enough brands to qualify,” according to Peter Pek, Chief Executive of the Forum.
The big winners
All the winners, selected from over 2,800 nominated brands are judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and an open public online voting.
Global tier winners included Apple, Beijing Tong Ren Tang, BMW, Cartier, Club Med, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, Lego, L’Oréal, Louis Vuitton, McDonald’s, Nescafé, Nike, Oral-B, Pampers, Rolex, Samsung, Schwarzkopf, Starbucks, Umbro, VISA and Yakult. Regional winners included the likes of Ajinomoto, Giordano, Indomie, Isetan, Kikkoman, MTN, RAK Ceramics, Sa Sa, Shangri-La, Uniqlo and Zara.
National tier winners were Citizen TV (Kenya), Safaricom (Kenya), Haier (China), Pandora (Denmark), Hermès (France), Adidas (Germany), Chow Tai Fook (Hong Kong), Airtel (India), Telkomsel (Indonesia), Ferrari (Italy), Pocari Sweat (Japan),) Maybank (Malaysia), Campina (Netherlands), SPAR Park ‘n’ Shop (Nigeria), Omantel (Oman), Gourmet (Pakistan), BENCH/ (Philippines), Sagres (Portugal), Qatar Airways (Qatar), Kaspersky Lab (Russia), Al Rajhi Bank (Saudi Arabia), BreadTalk (Singapore), Amarula (South Africa), Samsung (South Korea), Santander (Spain), UBS (Switzerland), Taiwan Beer (Taiwan), M-150 (Thailand), Efes Pilsen (Turkey), Etihad (United Arab Emirates), and British Airways (United Kingdom), among others.
I hope the Tuskys owners won’t disagree on the win