What a difference a year makes. Walgreens’ management and shareholders were long accustomed to steady, record-breaking gains in sales and earnings, and a pedal-to-the-metal store development strategy, that made Walgreens the nation’s fastest-growing pharmacy retailer and a market leader in cities across the country. As recently as the company’s annual meeting in January 2008, former chairman and CEO Jeff Rein reaffirmed that strategy, outlining a bold plan for filling in markets across the country by opening roughly one new store every 16 hours and buying the prescription files, and sometimes the stores, of rival independent and small chain pharmacies. He also said the company aggressively would pursue new opportunities in specialty pharmacy and front-end merchandising.

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After a monumental effort to educate lawmakers about the value of community pharmacy and the dangers the industry faces from new Medicaid reimbursement rules and other regulatory threats, the nation’s pharmacy leaders won a landmark victory last month when the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 became law, despite opposition from the Bush White House. Chain and independent pharmacy leaders deserve to pat themselves on the back. Nevertheless, there’s not much time for celebration. New challenges are waiting.

Drug Store News in May hosted the first installment of a new program it is calling its Pharmacy Development Series, which focused on the vitamin, mineral and dietary supplement category. Hosted in New York, the event brought key insights to retailers regarding the science that supports the business of dietary supplements — a category that has received mounting consumer interest from a number of fronts, including baby boomers looking to extend their lives through proper nutrition, as well as other cost-conscious, healthcare consumers who believe that a dietary supplement taken today can help significantly lower personal healthcare costs tomorrow. Retailers present included GNC — the lead retailer in the dietary supplement channel — as well as several leading drug and grocery chains, including Longs Drug Stores, Meijer, Rite Aid, Supervalu and Walgreens.