Pharmacies and grocery stores are better positioned than doctors to promote healthy behavior and prevent debilitating and costly illnesses. Many executives know this, but it is surprising how many acknowledge they have not done much about it. Don’t believe it? Consider who has more information about people and more opportunity to sway their choices. Doctors
NEW YORK — Chain drug retailers reacted favorably to President Trump’s drug price cutting plan; branded pharmaceutical manufacturers less so. Walgreens, which had pharmacists at the White House for the president’s announcement of the proposal, said in a statement the blueprint “is a positive step forward in addressing the issue of rising drug prices.” The
The American economist Edgar Fiedler appropriately warned that “he who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.” Fiedler aside, chain drug retailers may want to consider a series of future commercial opportunities emerging from what — at least at times — might appear to be the disruptive chaos of today’s market.
NEW YORK — Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, sent retail spending in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach area of Florida spiraling downward, with sales plunging more than 72% over a three-day period, according to payment technology company First Data Corp. The company, which
If you do business in the drug channel, the question of what happened to drug store traffic over the last few months is one I’m sure you’ve been seriously puzzling over. That and several others: Was it an aberration? When will traffic return? Will it return? Why did it happen? And, oh yes, how should
New formats are popping up throughout the chain drug industry, as retailers seek to overcome the sales malaise that has ensnared the industry this year. To recapture lost momentum, chain drug retailers are testing new store sizes, new merchandise assortments, new product locations within stores and new store concepts, sometimes all at once. It’s far
Once upon a time, the basic drug store merchandise mix was a simple affair, a half-dozen major brands in each product category, a handful of popular sizes, a small assortment of line extensions. No longer. Today’s drug store shelves are crammed with both major and supplementary brands. Indeed, sometimes off-brands dominate. Line extensions sometimes dominate.
NEW YORK — Holiday sales at drug chains edged up slightly versus a year ago, as uncertainty over the economy left consumers wary of boosting their spending. Another crimp on sales growth was deep discounts. While retailers trimmed inventory for the holiday season to avoid having to clear out overstocks with price cuts, consumers were
NEW YORK — Holiday sales at drug chains edged up slightly versus a year ago, as uncertainty over the economy left consumers wary of boosting their spending. Another crimp on sales growth was deep discounts. While retailers trimmed inventory for the holiday season to avoid having to clear out overstocks with price cuts, consumers were
For chain drug industry people, 2016 will be remembered as a year best forgotten — as much for the uncertainty of the future as for the problems of the past. As November ended and December began, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores brought industry leaders together in New York City for NACDS Week in
Two months remain in 2016, and the news out of the chain drug industry remains relatively scanty. Industry gatherings are few and far between — indeed, three months have passed since the NACDS Total Store Expo gathered the industry together in Boston. Against that background, the NACDS year-end meetings, scheduled for New York City following
Digital technologies are reshaping both consumer demand and competitive undercurrents in the U.S. consumer packaged goods marketplace. Digital innovations and the explosion of digital, mobile and social media are restructuring how consumers shop for and purchase CPG products. This framework has resulted in new shopping behaviors and purchase pathways, which are disrupting traditional business models
NEW YORK — Chain drug retailers have gotten used to dealing with fewer, and larger, drug makers, wholesalers and pharmacy benefit managers over the years. Retailers themselves have also consolidated, and now a merger wave has washed over the health insurance industry. While acquisitions in other sectors have been driven by the pursuit of economies
As prescription drug revenue and profitability are threatened by the expanding share of generics and continued reimbursement pressures, many chain drug retailers are counting on improved front-of-store sales and profitability to counterbalance the declines. That goal faces several challenges. Increases in mail-order prescriptions and 90-day refills reduce prescription-driven door turns. The aggressive growth of small-format
