Terms & Conditions CH

1 Background

1.1 These terms and conditions (“Rules”) apply to entries submitted for UPSTARTS (the “Awards”) operating on our website at www.upstartsawards.com (the “Website”).  By , the entrant agrees to enter the Awards and be bound by these Rules.

1.2 The Awards are organised by Retail in Asia Ltd. (the “Organiser”).

1.3 The Organiser reserves the right to cancel or amend the Awards or the Rules without prior notice. Any changes will be displayed on the Website.

1.4 The decision of the Organiser in relation to any dispute about the Rules, conduct, results and all other matters relating to the Awards is final and will not enter into correspondence.

2 How to enter

2.1 Eligibility

The awards are open to all companies and people based in Asia and within: 

2.1.1 Emerging Brands & Retailers including direct-to-consumer brands, retailers and retail concepts, e-tailers and marketplaces who meet the following criteria:

• Years of existence: operating for over 2 years and less than 11 years 
• Founded or headquartered in one APAC market
• Have at least 1 retail outlet (online or offline)
• Be privately owned (not listed)
• Be for profit
• Have a registered trademark

2.1.2 Retail Tech Startups including but not limited to retail automation, store operations & analytics, consumer analytics, payment solutions/fintech, e-commerce and logistics who meet the following criteria:

• Years of existence: operating for less than 11 years 
• Founded or headquartered in one APAC market
• Have at least five clients in the retail industry
• Be privately owned (not listed)
• Be for profit
• Have a registered trademark 

2.1.3  Expert Solution Providers & Partners including but not limited to branding, digital, communication, training, consulting and marketing agencies, as well as design and architect studios who:

• Provide services and solutions to the above ‘Emerging Brands & Retailers’

2.2 Award Categories

Entrants may enter the awards by competing in 15 categories across 3 areas:

2.2.1 Brand

Entry for this area is only for emerging brands & retailers

Best brand / retailer in one of the following categories: An achievement in brand recognition, product competition differentiation and notable results. 

Categories

• Fashion & Accessories

​​Best brand with its primary business in: apparel, sportswear, outerwear, sleepwear, lingerie, footwear, etc.. and accessories such as small and large leather goods, bags, belts, scarves, sunglasses, etc. 

• Beauty & Fragrance

Best brand with its primary business in: skincare, cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, nail care, oral care,  beauty devices. This category does not include beauty treatment, such as salon and spa. 

• Health & Wellness 

Best brand with its primary business in: sports equipment, supplements, active wear, menstrual products, etc. This category does not include coaching services, medical devices and products.

• Homeware & Lifestyle 

Best brand with its primary business in: designed home decor, furniture, home fragrance, stationery, lighting and home electronics, home textiles, etc. This category does not include interior design services.

• Retail Gourmet

Best brand with its primary business in: specialty products, associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drinks, including chocolatier, truffles, ham, caviar, pastries, seasoning, tea, coffee, etc. This category does not include bars, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.

• Jewellery & Watches 

Best brand with its primary business in: decorative items such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and watches, including digital watches, etc. 

•  Best retail concept 

Best retail concept that can be multi-brand, second hand resale platforms, mystery boxes, flash sales platforms, grocery marketplaces, etc. 

2.2.2 Brand Experience

Entry for this area is for all eligible players

Best brand / retail concept experience in one of the following categories: An achievement in transforming the customer experience.

Categories

• Retail Tech Breakthrough

Best tech solution to enhance a retail experience.

• Digital Excellence

Best digital campaign experience connecting consumers to the brand or retail concept.

• Sustainable Concept Excellence

Best campaign experience bringing sustainability across to connect consumers with brand or retail concept experience.

• Pop-up Concept

Best execution of pop-up concept for a retail experience.

2.2.3 Brand Personality 

Entry for this area is for all eligible players

Best personality within one of the following categories: A personal achievement. 

Categories

• Pioneer / Founder

Founder of a brand or retail concept who has demonstrated leadership and an ability to fulfill the company’s goals, grow the business and talents. 

• Retail Management Role  

A management role with a notable achievement in operations, team and customer management. 

•  In-Store Role  

An in-store role with notable achievement in customer quality of service and brand experience.

•  Tech or Agency team 

A tech or agency team with a notable, creative, digital / technological achievement in retail solutions or campaigns. 

2.3 There is no limit to the number of entries an entrant may submit. Entrants must tailor individual submissions accordingly based on the entry requirements of that category and outline how they suit the specific category at hand. Details see Rule 2.6

2.4  Entry Fee

Entrants must pay an entry fee for the entry submission to be confirmed. Entry will only be confirmed once relevant payment has been received. 

2.4.1 1 entry is priced HK$2,800, US$350; 2 entries are priced HK$ 5,000, US$640; 3 entries are priced HK$ 7,000, US$890; 4 entries are priced HK$8,400, US$1,070; 5 entries are priced HK$10,000, US$1,280. Entry fees are non-refundable. For more than 5 entries, please contact the Organiser. 

The fee includes:

• Awards enrolment
• A complimentary Company Profile on Retail in Asia website (www.retailinasia.com/incompanies)
• Access to the UPSTARTS platform & community. 

Payments Method:  Paypal / Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX) / AliPay / WeChat Pay / Bank Transfer. 

An invoice will be sent by email once the entry is submitted.

An entry confirmation email will be sent once your payment is received.

2.4  Entry Guide

To ensure that the entrants understand the entry criteria and prepare all the documents entrants need in order for the entries to be submitted successfully, please download and read through the Entry Guide / 申请指南

The entry guide includes:

1. General Information, including eligibility, entry fee and key dates
2. Awards Categories and Areas details
3. Entry Guideline Steps to follow
4. Entry Assessment & Judging Process
5.  Category Entry Material Checklists

2.5  To enter the Awards, all entrants must register and login to AwardStage, an awards management software, via the “Enter Now” link on the Website. All entries must be submitted via https://upstartsawards.awardstage.com by 15th August, 2022, 11:59 pm HKT. The Organiser will not accept any entry submission received via email or by post. Details on AwardStage’s Terms & Conditions and privacy policies see Rule 3.5.

2.6 Entry material requirement

All entrants must gather and develop entry materials based on the Entry Material Checklist. The requirements vary based on the selected awards areas. Please carefully follow the checklist for required materials. 

• Brand Checklist
• Brand Experience Checklist
• Brand Personality Checklist

2.6.1 Keep content concise and carefully follow the requirements listed in the checklist. Judges have the right to deduct marks or disqualify entries if specific formats are not followed.

2.6.2  Any information or content intended for judging purposes only and NOT for republishing must be clearly indicated in and highlighted in yellow. Such information and content will not be shared in any way and privy for the judging panel who will also maintain strict confidentiality. 

2.6.3 All entries must be completed in English or Chinese. Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be accepted.

2.6.4 All time is based on the time of receipt at the server. Late submission will not be entertained. 

2.6.5 The Organiser will under no circumstance be liable for any loss or damage caused by any problem or technical malfunction of any communication network, online system or computer hardware or software failure; or any incorrect data input during the online submission.

2.7 Upon submission, entrants agree that the entry:

     (a) Will not feature or use any images or words that contain nudity or are in any way untrue, misleading, distasteful, blasphemous, obscene, libellous, defamatory, indecent, harassing or threatening;

     (b) Will not contain any personal details about another person who is not a credited creator of the work being entered (for example, their name, where they live or what they do;

     (c) Will not contain any computer virus or other material that may be harmful to the Organiser’s computer systems.

      (d) All entry details, including company names, credits and so on, are FINAL and CANNOT be changed and / or transferred to another party.

2.8 The Organiser reserves the right to disqualify entrants without prior notice if the Organiser has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of the Rules, or that the entrant has participated in the Awards in any illegal or dishonest manner. 

2.9 The Awards entry submission opens on 1st June, 2022. Entrants must enter the Awards before the closing date of 15th August, 2022. Finalists will be announced in October 2022 and the winners will be announced in November 2022. The Organiser reserves the right to change these dates if necessary without prior notice.

2.10 The Organiser is not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, alteration of or unauthorised access to Entries, or Entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of server functions, technical issues, virus, bugs or other causes outside reasonable control.

2.11 Please keep a copy of the submitted entries as the Organiser will not be able to return them. 

3 How winners are chosen

3.1 Judging Committee is composed of active and established leaders, experts and players in the retail industry. The selection process of the Judging Committee is rigorous to ensure the right balance of experience, objectivity and knowledge. The judges will assess each entry individually for the first round of selection and convene together for the final winners selection. The judges’ decisions are final.

The judging rounds are conducted via AwardStage, where all entries will be shared with the Judging Committee. Details on AwardStage’s Terms & Conditions and privacy policies see Rule 3.5.

3.2 Entry assessment and judging process

Once the Organiser has received the entry, the Organiser will:

3.2.1 Screen each entry to ensure the entrant fulfills the eligibility criteria for the Awards categories and the submitted entries follow the relevant Entry Material Checklist.

3.2.2 Entries may be re-submitted if they fail screening. The new entry must be submitted within five working days after the Organiser’s feedback. The Organiser will inform the entrant which materials are missing to pass the screening. 

3.2.3 Passed entries will enter up to two rounds of selection. 

In the First Round Selection, the Judging Committee will individually review all entries and select the finalists for each category to enter the Second Round Selection. Finalists for each category will be announced in October 2022. 

In the Second Round Selection, the Judging Committee will convene together to determine the winner of each category. Finalists may need to pitch their entry to the judges. Winner of each category will be announced in November 2022. 

The Judging Committee is composed of active and established leaders, experts and players in the retail industry. The selection process of the Judging Committee is rigorous to ensure the right balance of experience, objectivity and knowledge. The judges’ decisions are final.

3.3 By entering, the entrant is aware that the details of the entries will be shared with the Organiser, judges, partners and sponsors in order to process the entries. Entrants also agree that the Organiser, their sponsors, partners and judges have non-exclusive permission to use the entrant’s entry and/or name, image and audio and/or visual recordings in any non-commercial publicity with due credit. End usage may include articles in newspapers / magazines / websites / social media posts / blogs / the showcase section of the Website; printed or digital materials at the community events or webinars; prints or digitals at events specifically related to the awards projected and on-screen visuals at the Organiser’s events; videos and photos displaying winners; case studies, books and presentations related to these awards.

3.4 Any personal data relating to entrants will not be disclosed to a third party without prior consent. Please see the Organiser’s privacy policy for further details.

3.5 All entries are collected and shared with the Judging Committee via AwardStage. Please see AwardStage’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy for further details.

4 Use of Entries

4.1 By entering the Awards, entrants confirm that the entry is produced by themselves and is not copied. Entrants further confirm that the entry does not infringe any third party rights (including intellectual property and privacy rights) nor violate any applicable laws and regulations.

4.2 Entrant agrees to give an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty free and non-exclusive license to the Organiser and third parties authorised on the Organiser’s behalf, including sponsors and partners, to make the entry available for non-commercial marketing or internal communications purposes related solely to the Awards, without prior notice or consent or indemnity to entrants. Example usage includes but not limited to newspapers / magazines / websites / social media posts / blogs / the showcase section of the Website; printed materials at awards ceremonies; prints at exhibitions specifically related to the awards; projected and on-screen visuals at ceremonies; videos and photos displaying winners; case studies, books and presentations related to these awards. At all times the entrant retains full ownership and usage is non-exclusive.

 4.4 The Organiser may also, in appropriate circumstances, and at its sole discretion and without prior notice, reject, edit, remove or disable access to Entries that appear to be legally or otherwise problematic e.g. infringe the copyright or other intellectual property or privacy rights of others, are defamatory etc. or for any other reason. 

4.5 If the Organiser suffers from any claim, in contract or in tort, or investigations conducted by any competent authorities, by reason of any right allegedly subsist in the entry or infringement of the same, entrants agree to hold the Organiser harmless and to indemnify the Organiser in full for any direct or indirect loss and damage, economic loss, loss of reputation and/or any consequential loss and damage or otherwise, together with any expenses, costs and further loss and damage suffered and incurred by the Organiser as a result of such claims and investigations.

5 Personal data

5.1 The Organiser will not collect any personally-identifiable information (name, address, telephone number or email address (“personal data”) through the website unless the entrant has provided it to the Organiser through the registration form on the website.

5.2 In compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) , the Organiser may also collect the following data: information about the computer used to visit the website, including where available IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration. This is statistical data about the Organiser users’ browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual.

5.3 All entries are collected and shared with the Judging Committee via AwardStage. Please see AwardStage’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy for further details.

6 Liability

6.1 The Organiser is not responsible for:

     (a) any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by the entry into the Competition or as a result of accepting one of the awards;

     (b) any loss or damage that is not reasonably foreseeable; or

     (c) any injury or damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer systems relating to their participation in the Awards.

6.2 The Organiser shall not be liable to entrants for any loss, damage, cost and expense directly or indirectly suffered by entrants (including but not limited to, loss of profit, loss of saving, loss of goodwill, loss of revenue or loss of contract incurred by entrants, whether anticipated or actual, or any special indirect or consequential damages of any nature whatsoever) or any action, claim and proceeding taken against entrants by any third party or parties in connection with, incidental to and consequential upon the performance of the Organiser or its employees or independent contractors in relation to the Awards. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to the extent permitted by law, the Organiser’s total aggregate liability in contract, tort, equity or otherwise for any direct loss or damage arising out of or in connection with the Awards shall be limited to HK$100 or the total amount paid by entrants in the Awards, whichever is lower.

7 Miscellaneous

7.1 The Rules shall be governed and interpreted by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Hong Kong”). Entrants hereby irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Courts in connection with any disputes arising from or in connection with the Rules.