Education

Salt Lake City - Phillips Edison & Co. is introducing a new program created to empower and prepare emerging leaders for a successful future. Innovation Labs is a professional development series that places associates from various departments on a team and assigns a real-life challenge facing the company.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. plans to roll out RFID-enabled “smart labels” later this year to aid inventory accuracy and improve in-store stock levels. In a corporate blog post, Keri Jones, executive VP, global supply chain and operations of Target, said the retailer is working with “key vendors” on a “fast paced timeline” to deploy RFID.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is teaming up with an A-list celebrity mom on a new line of craft kids for children.

The retailer has nabbed an exclusive partnership with Jennifer Garner on a new line of creative kits and projects for active kids. We Made It by Jennifer Garner will be available exclusively at Jo-Ann stores and Joann.com beginning in June. 

Dollar General is making a difference in the lives of its customers and their communities with another massive donation to literacy programs.

The retailer’s Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $5.8 million in grants to support adult, family and summer literacy programs to approximately 720 schools, nonprofits and literacy organizations across the 43 states Dollar General serves.

Big Lots employees in Ohio will be going to work for their communities in 2015, but not in a retail store. 

The company's associates in the West Columbus area will be planting and maintaining a 17-bed community garden and hope to harvest more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce in 2015 for the LSS Westside Food Pantry through the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Seattle - One month after Starbucks and Arizona State University announced the expansion of a benefit to pay for employees’ college education, more than 1,800 have signed up, with more than 2,200 total. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan offers 100% tuition reimbursement for all four years of college.

Whole Foods Market is embarking on a project to teach its environmentally-minded customers that not all recycling is created equal.

The retailer announced a new partnership with Recycling Across America that aims to help reduce global waste and close the loop with the reuse of recycled materials in manufacturing.

Toys”R”Us is looking to excite toy shoppers with an all-new assortment of toys from Fisher-Price based on the hit Nickelodeon show, “Blaze and the Monster Machines.”

The show features the heroic monster truck, Blaze, his 8-year-old driver, AJ, and many other characters helping preschoolers learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts. The Toys line of road-ready vehicles, die-cast and plush are available only at Toys"R"Us stores nationwide and Toysrus.com, now through the end of July.