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Issue 01-01-2018

H-E-B’s Martin Otto wins leadership award

H-E-B’s Martin Otto wins leadership award

SAN ANTONIO — Even the best-run, most effective organizations can benefit from occasionally reconsidering their work in a new light. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores is a case in point. Long viewed as the country’s preeminent retail trade group, NACDS has in recent months broadened and deepened its already formidable commitment to the

Kevin Hourican honored as top pharmacy exec

Kevin Hourican honored as top pharmacy exec

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Kevin Hourican is a relative newcomer to community pharmacy, but that hasn’t prevented him from helping CVS Health live up to its positioning as a pharmacy innovation company. Since being named executive vice president of retail pharmacy and supply chain 18 months ago, Hourican, who was trained in economics and supply chain

Alex Gourlay named Retailer of the Year

Alex Gourlay named Retailer of the Year

DEERFIELD, Ill. — To the casual observer, the dominant story line at Walgreens might appear to be the phased acquisition of 1,932 drug stores and related assets from Rite Aid Corp., and plans for their subsequent assimilation. But, important as the deal is, it shouldn’t be allowed to obscure other compelling developments at Walgreens Boots

New tax code eliminates ACA individual mandate

New tax code eliminates ACA individual mandate

WASHINGTON — The individual mandate is no more. The requirement under the Affordable Care Act that people pay a penalty if they do not obtain health insurance was eliminated in the federal tax overhaul passed by Congress. After the Senate approved the tax reform legislation 51-48, Trump tweeted, “Terrible Individual Mandate (ObamaCare) Repealed.” He signed

Loblaw gives promotions to Motz, Leger

Loblaw gives promotions to Motz, Leger

TORONTO — Jeff Leger has been appointed president of Shoppers Drug Mart, succeeding Mike Motz, who has been promoted to chief operating officer of SDM parent Loblaw Cos. Leger had previously served as executive vice president of pharmacy and health care for both Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart stores. Prior to that, he was senior

Holiday selling season good for drug chains

Holiday selling season good for drug chains

NEW YORK — Chain drug store holiday sales bettered last year’s results, with total dollar volume rising more than 4% and same-store sales advancing 1.8%. In comparison to the 2016 holiday retail sales season, when anxiety over the new administration may have peaked, consumer confidence was up this year, propelled by income gains and the

Dimos selected to oversee Health Mart for McKesson

SAN FRANCISCO — McKesson Corp. announced two key personnel moves, including the promotion of Chris Dimos to president of retail solutions for McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical and Specialty Health. Dimos will now oversee the Health Mart pharmacy network, taking over from Steve Courtman, who left the company to join health insurer Cigna as senior vice president

SDM gears up to sell medical marijuana

TORONTO — Canada’s largest retail pharmacy, Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM), is set to become a licensed dispenser of medical marijuana, pending approval from Health Canada, the Canadian government’s department of public health. In anticipation of that approval, medical marijuana producer MedReleaf recently said it has signed an agreement with SDM to become a medical cannabis

Arbor Drugs’ Eugene Applebaum dies at age 81

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Eugene Applebaum, who built his Dearborn, Mich., pharmacy into a major regional drug store chain called Arbor Drugs, passed away last month in his home at the age of 81. Applebaum made a name for himself as an entrepreneur, growing the Arbor Drugs chain from a single store, Civic Drugs, opened

Big events of 2017 that will shape the future

Big events of 2017 that will shape the future

A case could be made that for pharmacy operators passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act late last month was the biggest story of 2017. Championed by the Republican leadership in Congress and President Trump, the $1.5 trillion measure will provide substantial, permanent tax relief for businesses — the corporate tax rate was cut

How to make health care more efficient, effective

How to make health care more efficient, effective

The U.S. health care system does not work well for patients or providers. We now pay twice as much as other developed countries for health care, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects Americans will spend $1 out of every $5 on health care by 2025. Our country does not get much

Supplement OWL ‘raises the bar’ for category

WASHINGTON — The Supplement Online Wellness Library (OWL) — a dietary supplement product registry developed by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and launched in spring 2017 — is an industrywide self-regulatory initiative that aims to create a more complete picture of the dietary supplement market for regulators, retailers and the industry. The registry is

CVS-Aetna augurs new health care experience

CVS-Aetna augurs new health care experience

The pending $69 billion acquisition of Aetna by CVS could yield valuable lessons for others in the health care and drugstore sectors as they seek to forge stronger ties to consumers. What interests us here is the potential for the CVS-Aetna merger to create new, meaningfully differentiated brand experiences for consumers. CVS has nearly 10,000

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