Awards

Lowe's is helping to fulfill the makeover wishes of 515 schools in 46 states with money for improvement projects.

New York — With just 85 stores, Rochester, New York-based Wegmans Food Market edged past online giant Amazon to take the top spot for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study.

Harris Poll expanded the list to 100 companies this year, up from 60, to offer deeper insight by industry. As a result, three of this year’s top 10 companies are debuting on the list, including No. 1 Wegmans, No. 7 L.L. Bean and No. 8 Publix Supermarkets.

The Kroger Co. is getting more accolades from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this time for its efforts to reduce food waste.  

Cincinnati — The Kroger Co. has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to reduce food waste.  

Kroger participated in the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge and came out on top in three categories: Leadership, Innovation, and Education and Outreach.

Hundreds of retail industry power players and leaders helped the National Retail Federation raise $1.2 million for student scholarships at a gala in New York City.

New York -- T2, a specialty tea store in the Shoreditch area of London, and designed by Landini Associates, of Sydney, Australia, was named Store of the Year by the Retail Design Institute, whose annual design competition recognized more than 45 retail design projects in 20-plus retail formats for excellence in design and execution. The winning projects were honored at the Institute's 44th Annual Awards Gala, at the TimesCenter Stage, New York City.

E-commerce start up Symphony Commerce is facing seriously elevated expectations now that it has been singled out by Shop.org as the company with the greatest potential to transform the shopping experience and positively impact the retail industry.

Workplace customization was a recurring theme that emerged from Staples’ annual design competition.

The unique design competition involved 150 designers and architects who undertook the challenge of envisioning what workplaces will look like a decade from now.

As part of the contest, more than 150 architects and designers from around the world envisioned what work lives would be in the next 10-15 years, given the shift toward a "work anywhere, anytime" mentality.