Awards

Columbia, S.C. -- Edens & Avant announced Friday that its CEO Terry S. Brown has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 Carolinas Award winner.

The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Brown was selected as the winner in the real estate category from nearly 100 nominations across the Carolinas.

Toronto -- Sears Canada has replaced more than 130,000 inefficient incandescent spotlights with energy-saving LED lighting in all Sears Home and full-line stores across Canada. The retrofit will reduce the company's electricity use by more than 16 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year.

WASHINGTON — CVS Caremark All Kids Can, a program of the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and CVS Caremark, and VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, are showcasing their commitment to supporting inclusive arts education with the announcement of the 2011 All Kids Can Create student artists.

Frank Yiannas, VP food safety and health at Walmart, was named vice chair elect of The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), an organization created in 2000 by The Consumer Goods Forum. Yiannas will assume the role of vice chair in February 2012 when current vice chair, Yves Rey, corporate quality general manager, at Danone becomes chairman.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Macy’s has enjoyed strong sales momentum during the early part of this year with first-quarter same-store sales up 5.4% and the second quarter off to an even stronger start with May comps up 7.4%. There are a lot of reasons for those results, but several key supply chain initiatives have made important contributions and were recognized recently at the annual VICS Collaborative Commerce Achievement Awards.

Atlanta -- Manhattan Associates was honored as the "Best Third Party Provider" at the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association Awards, for its strategic thinking and leadership that has resulted in high-impact supply chain practices and partnerships. Manhattan was selected based on its partnership with Macy's, providing solutions from the Manhattan SCOPE solution suite that have supported the growth of the leading retailer's direct-to-consumer business.

Given all the talk of EDLP at Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting, it was understandable the company chose Maki Nakamura, chief merchandising officer at Walmart Japan, as the recipient of the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Walmart’s Seiyu stores in Japan have been implementing every day low prices for several years, and the company’s patience has finally paid off with improved business results in what has been a challenging market.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- The J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study again ranked Ace Hardware “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores.” Ace has held this position since the organization began researching the home improvement category five years ago.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings has announced the winner of its "Tu Empresa, Tu Futuro/Your Company, Your Future Business" grant competition, which provides grants to Hispanic small business owners.

The four $5,000 grants were awarded to:

• Tayde Aburto, The Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce

• Jennifer Burrell, The Frock Shop

• Elizabeth Tarpley, Targeted Tech Solutions

• Kristen Harris, Party Palette

New York City -- From a local cheese shop founded by a career changer, to a specialty supermarket that has expanded to more than 100 locations without sacrificing its commitment to quality and customer service,  the winners of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade’s (NASFT) Outstanding Specialty Food Retailers of 2011 awards are a diverse group.