The National Association of Chain Drug Stores held its year-end meetings in New York City early this month — and very little was as it had been a year ago. Many of the same familiar faces were on hand, and several of the same retail companies attended. But the yearlong series of events that have
The spectacular is becoming so commonplace that even the most astonishing events in chain drug retailing are assuming a ho-hum characteristic. Nothing new here, even if Walgreens has announced its intention to acquire Rite Aid. Put another way, America’s largest chain drug retailer is intent on combining its fortunes and its future with the country’s
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has, for the second time in five years, entered Chapter 11, a return that likely presages the death of one of the legendary names in the history of mass market retailing. The decision to seek bankruptcy protection one Sunday last month marked the end of the latest effort
Retailing is making headlines in the consumer press these days — the wrong kind of headlines. Some samples include the following: • CVS is being accused of targeting African-American and Hispanic shoppers as more likely to cause trouble than are Caucasian customers. • Walmart has reluctantly agreed to lower the temperature — by one degree
The year 2014 will be remembered as one of discovery about the power of niche and exclusive beauty brands at retailers in the United States, and that momentum will increase well into the future. Global retailers long ago recognized the potential for creating differentiation and loyalty with consumers through their own brands. The potential for
The most stunning aspect of the recently held NACDS Regional Chain Conference, convened on the west coast of Florida on February 1, was the absence of many of the industry veterans around whom the conference revolved in years past. Tony Civello, until recently the head of Kerr Drug, was absent, having sold his drug chain
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Former CVS and Family Dollar Stores Inc. executive Mike Bloom has become president and chief operating officer of small-box discounter Fred’s Inc. “Our board of directors views this senior management addition as an important step in the process of developing the Fred’s team of the future,” said company chairman Michael Hayes. “The hiring
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. will halt all sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products through its more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores nationwide by Oct. 1. The action makes CVS/pharmacy the first national drug chain to take this step. “Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for
As if the obvious needed to be stated, the period of slow, evolutionary change in the retailing environment for drug, food and convenience items is long over. The arrival of pure-play e-commerce companies to food, drug and beauty retailing marked the end of evolutionary and the beginning of truly explosive revolutionary change. The battlefield is
