Waitrose, Premier Inn & Samsung take home Which? Awards

Today, the UK’s consumer champion Which? has named the best brands of the year at the tenth annual Which? Awards, with Waitrose, Premier Inn and Samsung among those claiming the coveted accolades.

The 10th Which? Awards ceremony was co-hosted by TV presenter, Natasha Kaplinsky, and Which? Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-Smith. Recognising and celebrating the best businesses, the awards focussed on innovation and the changing expectations of consumers over the last decade.

Waitrose won the battle of the supermarkets and was crowned ‘Which? Supermarket of the Year 2016’, competing against shortlisters Aldi, Iceland, Marks & Spencer and Ocado. The hotly contested ‘Retailer of the Year 2016’ category, saw Toolstation beat John Lewis, AO.com, and Liz Earle to the top spot. In addition to a positive customer experience, the retailer was commended for working collaboratively with Which? to improve its terms and conditions, making them more consumer-friendly.

Tech giant Samsung was awarded a special ‘Which? Awards 10th Anniversary Award’ for consistently performing well in Which?’s research and testing, and focusing on making their products better for consumers. It’s also the only brand to be shortlisted for both ‘sound and vision’ and ‘home appliance’ categories this year.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) picked up the ‘Which? Positive Change Award 2016’, recognising their work with Which? to improve the presentation, accessibility and consistency of mortgage fees and changes.

The Which? Awards recognise businesses that have achieved positive change and deliver excellent products and service that score highly in our research and testing. We award businesses across a wide range of sectors from cars to retailers, banks to home appliances and local businesses. They are completely independent and businesses cannot put themselves forward to win an award.

Which? Awards 2016 Winners (and shortlist):

  • Which? Banking Brand of the Year 2016: First Direct

  • Which? Insurance Provider of the Year 2016: NFU Mutual

  • Which? Supermarket of Year 2016: Waitrose

  • Which? Computing & Mobile Brand of the Year 2016: Google

  • Which? Sound & Vision Brand of the Year 2016: Samsung

  • Which? Home Appliance Brand of the Year 2016: Miele

  • Which? Telecom Services Provider of the Year 2016: Zen Internet

  • Which? Retailer of the Year 2016: Toolstation

  • Which? Travel Brand of the Year 2016: Premier Inn

  • Which? Trusted Trader of the Year 2016: Electricians in Reading Ltd

  • Which? Awards 10th Anniversary Award: Samsung

  • Which? Positive Change Award 2016: CML

Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? Chief Executive, said:

“Over the last decade we have shortlisted 370 companies and crowned 120 Which? Award winners.

“Since the Which? Awards launched we have seen a consumer revolution, with rapid change in consumer behaviour and expectations transforming the way businesses interact with their customers. A Which? Award is evidence that these businesses are engaging consumers with what they do and delivering products and services of the highest quality.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

  • The Which? Awards took place at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 25 May 2016.

  • The Which? Awards recognises businesses that have achieved positive change and deliver excellent products and services that score highly in our research and testing. We award businesses across a wide range of sectors from cars to retailers, banks to home appliances and local businesses. The Which? Awards are completely independent and businesses can’t put themselves forward to win an award.​

  • For details of those shortlisted for each of the award categories, visit: https://prod-wordpress-press.internal.which.co.uk/whichpressreleases/battle-of-the-brands-10th-annual-which-awards-shortlist-revealed/

  • Also announced today, ‘Retailer of the Year 2016’ winner Toolstation and shortlisted John Lewis jointly topped Which?’s annual shops survey of 100 retailers. One of the nation’s biggest shopping surveys, 10,000 people were asked for their views of the UK’s shops. Bodycare, Lush and Richer Sounds all bagged the third place jointly.

  • Visit the Which? Awards website.

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