KELOWNA- A local business is gaining international attention after being named the best of its kind.
Lakehouse Home Store picked up the Global Retail Excellence Award at last week’s International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago.
The mom and pop store, owned by Ben and Sue Boschman, beat out 25 other retailers from around the world for one of the five prizes.
The couple says the win is a culmination of five years of hard work.
“I think with what we’ve taken on here it’s been extremely complex,” says Ben. “It wasn’t a walk in the park. So this whole thing is a real validation of our efforts over the last few years.”
The Boschmans received the award from a panel of merchandising experts from stores like Nike, Burberry, and Victoria’s Secret.
They say it came as a massive surprise.
“We were pretty stunned,” Ben says. “I think we kind of slipped into the winner’s circle.”
The other winners of the award hail from Denmark, Malaysia, Holland, and the United Kingdom.