Center Store

DENVER — The 2012 National Association of Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Conference kicked off Saturday morning with a bang as retailers and suppliers gathered for Meet the Market, a special program designed to provide attendees the opportunity to present and be presented with new products.

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It may be more than just coincidence that Walgreens has decided to really blow the doors off of retail pharmacy in the same city that screams horsepower every year over Memorial Day weekend. Because even as those Indy 500 drivers are chugging their milk at the Brickyard, Walgreens’ pharmacists will be celebrating a victory of their own as they and their customers help redefine what “drug store” means in shopper parlance.

Retailers remain bullish on the As Seen On TV category. “Almost every As Seen On TV product outperforms other product categories in drug stores,” said AJ Khubani, CEO of TeleBrands. “The products have sell-through rates that are at least 10% and can approach 30%.”

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Lewis Drug is celebrating its 70th anniversary — a milestone that can be attributed, in part, to its willingness to embrace change.

“One of the most important things I learned about the retail business is that you need to change. You need to keep yourself fresh and creative, and things will work out,” said Mark Griffin, president and CEO of Lewis Drug, which currently operates more than 30 locations. “Obviously, in 70 years, things worked out well and we continue to evolve.”

How is it that some companies seem to thrive in an environment of uncertainty — even chaos — while most others fail? Understanding how the winners are able to embrace the paradox of control and the uncontrollable, and how two leading retail organizations are doing it every day across thousands of stores, was the key focus of the most recent Mack Elevation Forum meeting, held April 20 in Palm Beach, Fla.


UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — A new line of products from AllerMates is helping parents of children with allergies better protect kids against exposure to unwanted allergens. AllerMates, a line of bright, fun, whimsical character-driven wristbands, dog tags and lunch boxes feature 14 original characters that help alert teachers and caregivers to a child’s allergies.


American consumers still are spending on their pets. The American Pet Products Association estimated that consumers will spend nearly $53 billion on their pets this year, an increase of nearly 4% over 2011 spending.


A recent survey from CouponCabin.com found that 75% of pet owners said the state of the economy did not affect their spending on their pet. More than 20% of respondents said they spend $51 to $100 per month on their pets.


CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble has trimmed its financial outlook for its April-June 2012 quarter and has unveiled preliminary guidance for fiscal year 2013.

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference in Paris, P&G board chairman, president and CEO Bob McDonald said, "we are making the necessary adjustments to our growth strategy to increase focus on our core business and to achieve more balanced growth across geographies, product categories and the top and bottom lines."