Awards

Walmart hourly employees are being rewarded for helping to improve customers’ satisfaction with the discounter’s stores.   The world's largest retailer said Wednesday it awarded more than $200 million in second quarter cash bonuses to more than 900,000 hourly workers across the United States.  

Chain Store Age magazine is accepting nominations for its 12th annual “Top Redevelopers” listing, which recognizes shopping center owners and developers’ retail redevelopment efforts over the last 12 months. Selections will be based on square footage redeveloped between June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2016, financial investment, and project significance.

For the sixth time, Nest has appeared on Inc. magazine’s ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

Nest — ranked no. 4783 on the 35th annual Inc. 5000, with three-year sales growth of 48%. The listing features successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment — independent small businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000.

The U.S. Department of Energy recognized The Wendy's Company, and one of its franchisees, Wendco Group, for its energy-saving efforts.   Wendy’s Company and Wendco Group, which operates 43 Wendy's restaurants in Alabama and Florida, are participants in the DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge. The program aims to make commercial, public, industrial and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade.     

Chain Store Age unveils its first-ever SPECS/2017 Ambassadors Club, created to recognize 12 retailers who have made significant contributions to the industry and to SPECS, the annual Retail Event for Store Innovation. Produced by CSA, SPECS is attended by retail and food-service executives involved in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of stores and restaurants nationwide.    

Target is taking its lighting to the next level. The retailer tapped Acuity Brands to provide Target stores with smart lighting technologies, featuring energy-saving LED fixtures and dimming controls. Target will be exclusively installing Acuity’s next generation, smart LED sales floor fixtures, along with its store accent lighting and distribution center site lighting.

Forrester Research has identified the retailers with the most and least satisfactory experience, and a very prominent name scored poorly.  

A familiar chain has been named the most powerful retail brand of 2016.   According to the 2016 Top 100 Most Powerful Brands report from brand marketing firm Tenet Partners, Barnes & Nobile is the most powerful retail brand, and 32nd most powerful brand overall, of the year. This is the second straight year Barnes & Noble ranked highest among retailers.  

Results of the 2016 Harris Poll EquiTrend Retail Brands of the Year study show that some retail chains truly “get it” when it comes to engaging consumers.   Two retailers were named top brand in their respective categories for the fourth straight year. These are the Home Depot, which has been named hardware and home brand of the year. And Kohls.com, which has been named online department store brand of the year.  

Consumers have spoken, and they have a favorite chain when it comes to buying appliance products.