Kinney Drugs has made staff changes in its merchandising department that it said are part of long-term plans to ensure the necessary leadership is in place to support the retailer's continued growth.

The drug chain, which has 91 stores in New York and Vermont, said Cheri Taylor has been named division manager of health and beauty care, and Mike Hatch is making a lateral move to division manager of general merchandise.

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. — Kinney Drugs has made staff changes in its merchandising department that it said are part of long-term plans to ensure the necessary leadership is in place to support the retailer’s continued growth.

The drug store chain said Friday that Cheri Taylor has been appointed division manager of health and beauty care, and Mike Hatch is making a lateral move to division manager of general merchandise.

Taylor and Hatch will be responsible for developing and implementiing sales and promotional strategies, ensuring sales and gross margin goals are met, and developing effective category management practices, according to Kinney.

"Cheri and Mike have over 45 years of combined category management experience. This experience will serve the company well in their new leadership roles," Richard Cognetti, vice president of retail merchandising at Kinney, said in a statement. "They will drive our purchasing decisions, advertising content, merchandise presentation efforts and continue to build relationships within the vendor community."

The pharmacy chain said Taylor has held various positions at Fay’s/Eckerd and Brooks, including senior buyer, associate category manger and category manager. Most recently, she served as regional vice president of North America/East at U.S. Cotton LLC, located in Baldwinsville, N.Y.

Hatch has been with Kinney since 1977, holding various positions in the distribution center and merchandising departments. In 1994, he was promoted to buyer and in 1998 became merchandise manager for health and private label. In 2001, he was promoted to category manager of health care, and in 2007 he was promoted to division manager of health and beauty.

Kinney has 91 pharmacies in central and northern New York and Vermont and operates three health care services subsidiaries: ProAct, a prescription benefit management company; HealthDirect, a provider of institutional pharmacy services; and HealthDirect, a mail-order pharmacy.

This weekend, Kinney is scheduled to hold the grand opening of its new store on South Main Street in Waterbury, Vt., the site of a former Vincent Drugs store. The location is the retailer’s 91st store.