Sales & Marketing

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market claimed the honor for best brand on Pinterest at the Shorty (the Shorties) Awards on April 7. The Shorties are an annual awards event that honors the best short-form content creators on Twitter and on other social media sites.

Whole Foods Market joined Pinterest in 2011, and currently has 180,000 followers.

Washington, D.C. — Simon Property Group and NRG eVgo (ee-vee-go), a subsidiary of NRG Energy will host an amped-up Earth Day Electric Car Caravan to unveil three new electric car fast-charging Freedom Station sites at St. Charles Towne Center, Bowie Town Center and Queenstown Premium Outlets in Maryland. The caravan will attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies at each center on April 22.

Sierra Vista, Ariz. — The Realm Salon, an approved Aveda Salon, is opening a new 1,500-sq.-ft. full-service salon in Indian Hills Plaza in Sierra Vista, Ariz. The new salon plans to open by June 1.

First West Properties Corporation represented the tenant in the transaction. Commercial Retail Advisors represented the landlord, Indian Hills Investors.

American Express added Walmart’s U.S. network of 4,100 stores as locations where customers can participate in the card issuers prepaid Serve offering.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- The Michigan Small Business Development Center is honoring a Sears Appliance & Hardware store located in Big Rapids, Mich., with its 2013 Best Small Business Award for creating jobs, increasing sales and improving business strategy. The retailer was one of a dozen stores chosen from more than 5,500 small businesses throughout the state that the Michigan Small Business Development Center provided confidential counseling and training to in 2013.

Office Depot has launched a digital campaign called “Teachers Change Lives. So Can You” to help raise awareness and funds for classroom supplies for teachers.

As a thank you to these educators, Office Depot has partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org, a national organization dedicated to collecting and distributing funds to teachers, who in many cases use their own money to purchase classroom supplies to ensure each student has the tools to succeed.

Grand Forks, N.D. -- Acme Tools, an authorized online retailer of tools and equipment, is launching a new mobile version of AcmeTools.com for online customers using smartphones. Developed by BlueSky Technology Partners, the new mobile platform leverages Acme Tools' ongoing investment in IBM WebSphere Commerce to deliver a seamless online shopping experience.

Tampa, Fla. - The Melting Pot Restaurants  plans to expand its footprint in select markets throughout the U.S., and Canada. Domestically, the company is looking to recruit new franchisees in cities such as Anchorage, Alaska; Little Rock, Ark.; Fresno, Calif.; Hartford, Conn.; Des Moines, Iowa; New York City; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Charleston, S.C.; and Portland, Maine, as well as Houston and El Paso, Texas.