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
As the year nears its end, surprises continue to make news in chain drug retailing. Mostly, negative surprises. Earlier this month, CVS downsized its headquarters staff by some 600 employees, stopping for a moment the retailer’s uninterrupted string of good news. Following that announcement, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based drug chain issued a warning that results might
In chain drug retailing, the most disappointing product category in 2016 has been beauty care. Indeed, the problem with the beauty care category in chain drug stores is, quite simply, the chain drug store’s inability to generate any significant interest in the category. It performs far more credibly in other mass retailing outlets, and it
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
The ranks of the chain drug industry’s giants continue to shrink — and, typically of a business that continues to grow, prosper and change, the tendency is to forget to remember what these icons accomplished. Last month, two executives who were instrumental in building chain drug retailing passed away. They were radically different, yet remarkably
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers held its 2016 General Membership Meeting in London in mid-September. No one can blame you for not immediately recognizing IFPW. Though it is a global organization with members representing countries around the world, it touches only peripherally on the retail pharmacy industry. Rather, its immediate concern is the intersection
The all-important Christmas selling season is about to begin. Truth is, the season begins during the run-up to Halloween and runs, virtually non-stop, through December 24. The highlights are the countdown to the day after Thanksgiving, the period immediately following Thanksgiving week and the final days before Christmas Day. Even now, the nation’s drug stores
The year 2016 is more than half over — and the news concerning the chain drug store community has hardly made a ripple. The Walgreens acquisition of Rite Aid remains a work in progress, though all parties hoped it would have been completed by now. The NACDS Total Store Expo event is unfolding without many
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
Amid the dazzling array of industry events that marked April as an exceptional month in the chain drug retailing community, Tom Coughlin, the legendary Walmart executive who led the company through some of its most memorable years, passed away at the age of 67. His funeral was held in Bentonville, Ark., a week before the
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
The Annual Meeting of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is once again upon us, though the calendar year hasn’t yet budged beyond April. The significance of this annual meeting has nothing to do with the calendar, however. Rather, it comes along just as retailers and suppliers begin to get the tone of the
Fast Company, one of the more appealing and relevant business publications to have come along in recent years, recently compiled a list of the world’s 50 most innovative companies. Several familiar names were included, perhaps most notably to retail students, CVS Health. Not surprisingly, Fast Company presented a strong case for CVS’ inclusion, but it
This year, Chain Drug Marketing Association (CDMA) marks its 90th anniversary. To translate, the organization was begun in 1926. The date was three years prior to the Great Depression and 13 years before the outbreak of World War II. Flying was a sometime thing, and air travel, when it was deemed an efficient and safe
