The new year is finally here. On balance, 2016 was a year best forgotten. Very few events of a positive nature will be remembered. On the other hand, many unsettling moments would best be reviewed at another time — if at all. As 2017 dawns, several important questions remain to be resolved, a few of
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Walmart health and wellness executive Carmen Bauza is leaving the company to join the television and online retailer HSN Inc. Bauza is slated to join HSN/Home Shopping Network as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, effective November 28, the interactive multichannel retail company announced. In her new role, Bauza will
NORWALK, Conn. — Walmart and Kroger Co. finished in a virtual tie as the top retailer in the 2016 PoweRanking determined by consulting firm Kantar Retail LLC. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. were at the top of the rankings of manufacturers in this year’s survey. Walmart has been atop the retailer rankings for more than a
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
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart’s third quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations, but its sales fell slightly short, dampened by food deflation and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. The company earned $3.03 billion, or 98 cents a share, during the quarter, down from $1.03 per share a year ago. Analysts, on average, had projected earnings of 96 cents
MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has hired former Walmart executive Shekar Natarajan for the newly created role of senior vice president, network planning and operational design, with oversight of Target’s direct-to-store and direct-to-customer shipping operations. Natarajan will join Target on November 20 and work out of its offices in Sunnyvale, Calif. He will report to Arthur
PETERSBURG, Fla. — Walmart executive Carmen Bauza is leaving the company to join interactive media retailer HSN Inc. HSN said Monday that Bauza is slated to join HSN/Home Shopping Network as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer on Nov. 28. She will be responsible for the management and development of the retailer’s cross-category product
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) and Rite Aid Corp. have extended the time frame for completing their planned $17.2 billion merger. The companies have pushed back the end date for the deal by three months to January 27, and they expect the transaction to close early next year. Both companies had the
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
NEW YORK — Competition remains fierce in the chain pharmacy industry, albeit with a decreasing number of players. If the pending acquisition of Rite Aid Corp. by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. goes through, the field will diminish dramatically, especially in major metropolitan areas. Depending on the number of stores WBA divests to meet antitrust requirements,
In the early 1960s, Bob Dylan, who was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, asked his listeners to “… admit that the waters/Around you have grown/And accept it that soon you be drenched to the bone/If your time to you is worth savin’/Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone/For the
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
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — This weekend, Walmart is making another pitch to consumers to come to its stores for their health care needs. On Saturday, Oct. 15, more than 4,600 Walmart stores nationwide are slated to host Walmart Wellness Day, in which the retail giant said that for a four-hour period “nearly everyone in America” will
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart’s capital spending plan for next year calls for fewer new brick-and-mortar stores, and an accelerated e-commerce push. The announcement of the retailer’s spending priorities came during Walmart’s annual meeting with the investment community. The company also said that it expects its earnings to be flat in fiscal 2018, which starts in
