NEW YORK — This isn’t your father’s chain drug industry. It’s not even your older brother’s. The mergers of CVS Health and Aetna Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. and Albertsons Cos. are recasting two of the top three players and, in the process, redefining what it means to be a drug store operator. “Prescriptions, O-T-Cs
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.” To the extent that Emerson’s insight is applicable to the grocery business, retailers vying for a share of the nation’s $800 billion a year in food and beverage sales, a contingent that includes
NEW YORK — Entering the second quarter of 2017, the chain drug industry was awaiting answers to a couple of big, lingering questions. First, what will the chain drug landscape look like? A significant change in the field of players is likely in store pending antitrust clearance of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s (WBA’s) deal to
April is here — and still no resolution on the pending acquisition of Rite Aid Corp. by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. As time stretches out, this indecision bodes ill for an acquisition that was until recently viewed as an agreement with benefits for both parties. Now, confusion is apparently overtaking certainty — and there is
By gobbling prime real estate and mastering the science of site selection, the top national drug store chains have absolutely succeeded in getting as close to the customer as possible. But in an era when almost anything you want is available at the touch of a button — not just on your computer at home
On February 1, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Final Rule interpreting the provisions of the 2010 health care reform law that address the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP). While much of the Final Rule speaks to drug manufacturer rights and responsibilities in the MDRP, significant portions are directly applicable
Chain drug store operators are unique among mass market retailers in many ways, none more dramatic than the separation of the pharmacy and front-end businesses. In fact, they are actually two separate businesses, neither overly dependent on the other for success. So it is that the success in pharmacy of a retailer like Walgreens Boots
NEW YORK — Going forward, chain drug stores can bank on the same underlying trends that have fueled the retail pharmacy business in recent years. But the industry as they’ve known it won’t look quite the same. Retailer consolidation, changes in drug purchasing and the influx of specialty drugs are reshaping the competitive arena, industry
One-third of the way into the new year, the chain drug store industry is hardly setting any worlds on fire. Business is good, but noteworthy only in the fact that it’s not better. America’s chain drug industry has significantly dialed down the pace of mergers and acquisitions that had characterized it over the past two
NEW YORK — Americans prefer generic drugs to brands for both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, according to a new Harris Poll. Among those who purchase prescription drugs for themselves, nearly seven in 10 (69%) say, given a choice, they would opt for generics more often. Three in 10 go as far as saying they would
The retailing business in the United States may have reached an inflection point during the period around Black Friday, traditionally seen as the start of the holiday selling season. While reports from different sources about retailers’ performance during the last week of November don’t neatly align, the consensus is that e-commerce continues to gain ground
National drug chains are working hard to drive more sales in the beauty care category. The merged Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., for starters, is revamping its stores with a swankier cosmetics offering centered on the Boots No7 skin care line, which already drives traffic across Europe. For its part, Rite Aid Corp. is rolling out
Results from Amazon’s Prime Day promotion last month raise some interesting questions for all retailers that compete with the e-commerce giant, a group that has come to include chain drug stores, other mass marketers and practically any seller of consumer goods. Held in conjunction with Amazon’s 20th anniversary, the event was designed to reward shoppers
Drug chains have gotten used to dealing with fewer, and larger, drug makers, wholesalers and PBMs over the years. Retailers have also consolidated. Now a merger wave has washed over the health insurance industry. Though acquisitions in other sectors have been driven by the pursuit of economies of scale, the health insurance consolidation is seen
