Asian retailers – including Uniqlo’s parent – have won top honours at the 2014 World Retail Awards.

Japan’s Fast Retailing scooped the award ‘Retailer of the Year’. The accolade came shortly after its announcement of Uniqlo’s plans for major expansion of its kidswear line. The group follows in the footsteps of prestigious past winners including Whole Foods and Inditex, parent of Zara.

South Korean department store group Lotte Shopping has won ‘CSR Initiative of the Year’, following the launch of its rewards scheme to encourage customers to buy eco-friendly products.

Breadtalk (China) was named ‘Growth Market Retailer of the Year’.

The World Retail Awards, now in its eight year, celebrate inspiring retail excellence. They were presented during the World Retail Congress in Paris, attended by nearly 1500 delegates.

The award winners were decided by a team of 12 global CEO’s including Gordon Campbell (Spar International) and Rick Darling (Li & Fung US).

Other winners include Sweden’s H&M (International Retailer of the Year), UK’s John Lewis (Omnichannel Retailer of the Year) and Sainsbury’s (Best Advertising Campaign of the Year) and Starbucks (Retail Transformation and Reinvention Award).