It was a standing ovation for independent retail buyer and retail advisor Henri Davis, who was presented with the prestigious Honorary Achievement trophyat The Greats Awards, held at the Grosvenor House on London’s Park Lane, on Wednesday (May 15).
“With this award, we honour a very special individual who has spent almost four decades in the gift industry and allied trades, someone who has always led by example and is an inspiration to many,” stated Sue Marks, editor of Progressive Gifts & Home and GiftsandHome.net. “As comfortable speaking to the largest of corporate beasts, as to the tiniest village gift shop, not only has this talented person excelled in their field, but they have also selflessly devoted a huge amount of ‘out of hours’ time to working for the greater good of our sector.”
On hearing that she was the winner of this very special award, Henri told guests:“I had no idea that this fantastic honour was going to be bestowed on me today, and I can’t tell you how much this means to me, because this industry is so amazing and I have been lucky enough to work in it for 36 years.”
She continued:“I’ve loved every moment of it, and I think retail has everything to go for. While things may be tough for us at the moment, it just means that we have to get better at what we do and try that little bit harder – even though we thought that we were working hard before.”
Summarising, Henri concluded: “This is so exciting and I can’t thank you enough. I never dreamt, in a million years, that I would get this sort of recognition.I love what I do and I hope to do it for another good few years – although maybe not another 40!”
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* Henri Davis is a past chairman of The Giftware Association. She is currently the Association’s deputy chairman and a dedicated national committee member.
Top: Henri Davis received The Greats Honorary Achievement Award 2019.
