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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
BJ’s Pays Rx Tax for Customers, Sales Increase Significantly
The Boston Globe reports that three pharmacies operated by BJ’s Wholesale Club as well as five others are not charging their customers for the new $1.30 prescription tax levied in…
Eckerd’s 10 Point Strategy
Wayne Harris, ceo, Eckerd and other company executives, yesterday, unveiled the drugstore chain’s plan for its business to a meeting of 90 financial analysts in Palm Harbor, FL. A…
Coke Units Merger Combines Soft Drinks and Juice Businesses
Coca-Cola announced Tuesday that it was integrating its Minute Maid juice and North American soft drink division into a single business unit. The company expects the move to help it…
Kmart Announces It Will Close 326 More Stores
Kmart announced Tuesday that it will close 326 stores in addition to the 283 it previously shuttered in its continuing effort to turn its business around. The retailer also…
NACDS Criticizes GAO on PBM Study
The General Accounting Office’s study on Pharmacy Benefit Managers got it wrong, according to Craig Fuller, president and ceo, NACDS, who said in a released statement, “The GAO report ignores…
Convenience Store Follows in Wawa’s Footsteps
Two Pantry 1 Food Marts have opened for business in locations left by the Wawa convenience store chain. They aren’t wasting time either. On Dec. 2, Wawa closed a location…
Wal-Mart Offers to Pay Cash for UK Safeway
No retailer in the world has deeper pockets than Wal-Mart. That explains how the retail chain was able to up the ante for the Safeway British supermarket chain when it…
Gas Prices and Supply Uncertainty Going Up
According to the Lundberg Study, drivers in the US paid an average of $1.47 a gallon for gasoline over the past three weeks. The latest numbers represent a 5.6 cents…
Robot Pharmacist On Duty
Rice’s Pharmacy in Nashua, New Hampshire has a new pharmacist on staff. He never makes mistakes, takes vacations or sick days and he fills prescriptions five times faster than the…
‘Grocerants’ Level Playing Field
Grocery stores are going into the food business. Supermarkets such as Wegmans in New York, Byerly’s in Minnesota and Draeger’s in California are operating restaurants serving meals that even foodies…
Walmart.com’s Sales Make Its Parent Proud
John Fleming, chief executive officer, Walmart.com told the San Francisco Business Times, “We had a great holiday season. We know that sales (for the entire online sector) are up 25…
Leaders Need To Call IT Shots
An article in The McKinsey Quarterly, ‘Who’s Accountable for IT?’, says the role of information technology (IT) is changing and, as such, business leaders need to reevaluate how the function…
Kroger Enters Chicago Market
Safeway may be looking to sell Dominick’s so it can exit the Chicagoland market, but Kroger seems intent on making a place for itself operating stores under the Food 4…
Delhaize to Close Food Lion and Kash n’ Karry Stores
Delhaize plans to close 41 Food Lion locations and one Kash n’ Karry store by the end of this month, explaining that they were “just not profitable”. What is…
Coca-Cola Gets Real
Coke is looking to create a bond between its flagship brand and younger consumers with its new “Coca-Cola Real” advertising campaign featuring celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Courtney Cox Arquette,…
McDonald’s Faces Worker Resistance
An anti-McDonald’s movement established and carried on by McDonald’s own employees, the McDonald’s Worker Resistance, describes itself as “a loose network of McDonald’s employees” with members from around the globe…
Ahold Restructures, Bruno’s CEO Resigns
Ahold announced yesterday that it was restructuring back-operations at its Bruno’s, BI-LO, Giant-Carlisle and Tops operations, and that Bruno’s chief executive, Jim Demme has decided to leave the company. …
A Drink A Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Citing a new study, an Associated Press article reported, “As little as half a drink every other day is enough to reduce the risk, regardless of whether it is beer,…
Walgreen’s Ups Ad Budget
Jeffrey Rein, chief operating officer, Walgreen’s announced yesterday that the nation’s largest drugstore chain would increase its budget 12-13 percent and spend approximately $360 million on advertising this year. Do…
Wal-Mart and Tesco To Test Smart Shelves
Wal-Mart and Tesco are working with Gillette to test a new inventory control technology that uses shelves that can read radio frequency identification (RFID) tags embedded in the manufacturer’s products…
Albertsons Focuses on Nutrition
Albertsons is taking its Nutrition in Focus program to the communities it serves with dietitians that offer nutritional tours at company stores as well as speaking to groups and providing…
