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
It was a very productive spring for CVS Health. Already performing at a level that made it the envy of most other retailers and health care providers, the company took a series of steps in May and June that will increase its chances of success in several burgeoning sectors of the marketplace. The biggest news
AmerisourceBergen earlier this month unveiled plans to add three new facilities — in Olive Branch, Miss.; Shakopee, Minn.; and Newburgh, N.Y. — to its distribution network, which handles some 35% of the pharmaceutical products sold in the United States. The multimillion-dollar investment to build and equip the warehouses will bring the amount of money the
Most people in this country spent last Christmas Eve away from work, celebrating the holiday with family members and friends. Alex Gourlay, then Walgreens’ president of customer experience and daily living, devoted much of the day to visiting a dozen of the drug chain’s outlets in greater Chicago. His goal was to connect with store-level
When members of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores gathered at The Breakers in Palm Beach for the 2015 NACDS Annual Meeting last month, they brought with them a renewed sense of purpose and confidence in the meaningful contributions that community pharmacy is making to improve the U.S. health care system and meet many
Walgreens Boots Alliance experienced a rite of passage earlier this month when for the first time it reported quarterly earnings. The financial performance of the self-described international pharmacy-led health and well-being enterprise, formed last December by the merger of Walgreens and Alliance Boots, was noteworthy, with adjusted earnings far exceeding the projections of Wall Street
The Health Care Learning and Action Network was formally launched at the White House last month. President Obama and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell were on hand to voice their support for the project, which is intended to enlist a wide range of participants in the health care sector to help
Although the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama five years ago and the major provisions of the legislation took effect at the beginning of 2014, health care reform remains a highly contentious work in progress. Two recent reports provide some indications about the ACA’s success to date in achieving its primary
Many of the boldface names in the retail and consumer products sectors belong to women. Helena Foulkes is president of CVS/pharmacy, the drug chain where Judy Sansone is chief merchant. Kathee Tesija holds the latter position at Target, and Michelle Gloeckler runs Walmart’s consumables business and heads up the company’s U.S. Manufacturing initiative. Delhaize America
The new year is just over a month old and already the chain drug industry has seen its fair share of noteworthy events. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a coming out party, opening trading at NASDAQ and unveiling its new corporate logo; Brian Unmacht became the first person outside the Bartell family to serve as president
In the not-too-distant past community pharmacy was correctly perceived as a conservative business whose members were intent on operating within a well-defined set of parameters and not rocking the boat. A generation ago it wasn’t uncommon to hear members of the profession joke about what they did as “lick, stick and pour.” The industry as
When the history of Walgreen Co. is written, Greg Wasson, who last month announced that he would step down as chief executive officer of the drug chain upon completion of its merger with Alliance Boots, will be seen as one of the company’s most consequential leaders. A product of the Walgreens system who joined the
