Consumer Affairs & Relations

From win-win to lose-lose. Do enough deals with different celebrities and sooner or later one of them is bound to blow up. That’s what happened to Target last week when entertainer/singer/gay rights advocate Lady Gaga had a change of heart regarding a prior commitment with Target.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Chico's announced that Celia Rao Visconti has been named SVP marketing for Chico's. Rao Visconti will report directly to Cinny Murray, brand president of Chico's and will oversee the brand's marketing strategy and initiatives.  

Fort Myers, Fla. -- Chico’s FAS announced Monday that it has named Celia Rao Visconti as senior VP of marketing.

She will report directly to Cinny Murray, brand president of Chico's, and will oversee the brand's marketing strategy and initiatives. 

Rao Visconti was previously executive VP and chief marketing officer for New York & Co.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Whirlpool announced that it was awarded  the 2011 Energy Star Sustained Excellence award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The award recognizes the company's leadership in offering consumers energy and water efficiency through its leading home appliance brands, Whirlpool reported. According to the company, Whirlpool was the only appliance manufacturer to receive the Sustained Excellence award, the highest possible Energy Star award. This is the company's 12th top Energy Star award and sixth consecutive Sustained Excellence win.

Camp Hill, Pa. — Rite Aid is working with Sharps Compliance to help customers dispose of unused medications, the retailer said Monday.

Customers can buy a Sharps Compliance medication-disposal envelope at a Rite Aid store for $3.99, place unused prescription or over-the-counter drugs inside and then send it via the U.S. Postal Service to the incinerator.

CHICAGO -- The Network of Executive Women,  the consumer products and retail industry’s largest diversity organization, has announced leadership changes. Joan Toth has been named president and CEO of the Network of Executive Wome. She has held the title of executive director since shortly after the Network was founded in 2001.

The Network’s top elected official--Michelle Gloeckler, SVP merchandising execution at Walmart Stores--has been named Network chair. She had previously served has president

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Hasbro announced that it has signed a strategic development agreement with Jagex Limited to jointly create a new online game based on the Transformers brand. Under the agreement, the two companies are slated to launch the Transformers online game in 2012 in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

New York City -- A Manhattan bankruptcy judge on Thursday has cleared the path for Blockbuster to sell itself to a group of hedge funds, preventing the movie rental chain from having to liquidate its assets.

Judge Burton R. Lifland has approved procedures for the auction of Blockbuster, with a $290 million initial offer from a group of senior bondholders led by hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital.