Awards

NEW YORK -- Brawny, All, Aquafresh and Listerine were among the consumer brands to take home the Product of the Year Award in their respective categories. Chosen by 50,000 consumers, Product of the Year USA will honor the nation's most innovative consumer packaged goods of 2013 at its fifth annual Awards Ceremony, taking place at the Edison Ballroom in New York City on Tuesday, Feb. 12.  Special guest host Wendy Williams will serve as Master of Ceremonies alongside Chicago's top improv comedians, Kate James and Greg Mills.

MONTREAL — Target has presented its Emerging Designer Award to Mélissa Nepton. Nepton was selected from a group of five finalists as the grand prize winner during the final competition hosted last night at Montreal Fashion Week. The Target Emerging Designer Award is part of the Designers Fund, a joint initiative of Groupe Sensation Mode and Fondation de la mode de Montréal.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Skullcandy, a manufacturer of performance headphones, has named Rick Alden, the company's founder, former CEO and a current director, as Interim CEO. Jeremy Andrus has decided to step down from his positions as resident and CEO and a company director to join a private investment firm. He will serve as a consultant to the company over the next 12 months.

SEATTLE — Sally Jewell, CEO of REI, has been nominated as Secretary of the Interior. 

Sally has led REI as CEO since 2005 and during that time has provided steady leadership for the co-op and its thoughtful growth. During her tenure REI has increased sales from $1 billion to nearly $2 billion, added 71 stores, and greatly expanded its online business. Under Sally's leadership, the company has been named annually to Fortune Magazine's list of the Best Companies to Work For.

CHICAGO — The Network of Executive Women on Friday named Donna Giordano, president of the Ralphs division of Kroger, and Monica Turner, general manager of market strategy and planning for Procter & Gamble, co-chairs of the NEW Executive Leaders Forum 2013.

NEW YORK — Samsung Electronics has partnered with New York-based designer to create the industry's first co-created print inspired by crowd-sourced sketches and images using the Galaxy Note II. The print will appear on a limited-edition bag that will be sold in key markets around the world to raise funds for Art Start, an award-winning, nationally-recognized charity that uses the arts to nurture the creative talents of at-risk children and youth. 

Shopping center companies: Receive recognition for your 2012 development, acquisition and third-party management activities. The 24th annual Chain Store Age “Fastest Growing” awards will recognize the most active shopping center owners, managers and acquirers for projects, contracts and transactions completed between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012.

Amazon, which gained attention for its expanded Kindle line and growing e-commerce footprint, captured the second spot on BrandIndex's list of most buzzed about U.S. brands for 2012.

Lowe's and Target were the only traditional retailers to make the top 10. Lowe's moved up one spot to the number five position, thanks to the launch of MyLowes.com and better-equipped staff. Target captured the number seven spot with the help of its remodeling program and year-round exclusives.

Other retailers in the top 25 include Walgreens (13), Home Depot (18) and Kohl's (25).