December 12, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
Affordable Care Act, chain drug industry, chain drug retailers, David Pinto, NACDS, NACDS Week in New York, National Association of Chain Drug Stores
2016, Issue 12-12-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
November 21, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
Carmen Bauza, chain drug retailing, CVS, David Pinto, mass retailing, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart
2016, Issue 11-21-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
November 7, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
beauty care category in chain drug stores, beauty care suppliers, chain drug industry, chain drug retailing, David Pinto, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Target, Total Store Expo, Walmart
2016, Issue 11-07-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
October 24, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug industry, chain drug retailers, CVS Pharmacy, David Pinto, drug chains, mass market retailer, mass market retailing, NACDS, NACDS Total Store Expo, Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens, Walmart
2016, Issue 10-24-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
October 10, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug industry, chain drug retailing, Cork Walgreen, David Bloom, David Pinto, Shoppers Drug Mart, Walgreens
2016, Issue 10-10-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
September 26, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
David Pinto, IFPW, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, retail pharmacy industry
2016, Issue 09-26-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
September 12, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug retailing, Christmas sales, Christmas selling season, David Pinto, holiday selling season
2016, Issue 09-12-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
August 6, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug industry, David Pinto, mass retailing, NACDS Total Store Expo
2016, Issue 08-08-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
July 25, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug industry, chain drug stores, David Pinto, NACDS, NACDS Total Store Expo, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, pharmacy
2016, Issue 07-25-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
May 16, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
David Pinto, Tom Coughlin, Walmart
2016, Issue 05-16-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
April 16, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
chain drug industry, chain drug stores, CVS, David Pinto, mass retailing, Rite Aid, Walgreens
2016, Issue 04-18-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
April 4, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
CVS Health, David Pinto, mass retailing, NACDS Annual Meeting, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Rite Aid, Target, U.S. retailing, Walgreens, Walmart
2016, Issue 04-04-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
March 14, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
CVS Health, David Pinto, Fast Company, Larry Merlo
2016, Issue 03-14-2016, Issues, Opinion
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
February 22, 2016 by David Pinto and Chain Drug Review
CDMA, chain drug industry, Chain Drug Marketing Association, David Pinto, Jim Devine
2016, Issue 02-22-2016, Issues, Opinion
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