Financial News

SLOUGH, England — The battle for Schiff Nutrition is on. Reckitt Benckiser on Friday commenced its previously announced tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Schiff Nutrition — a provider of branded vitamins, nutrition supplements and nutrition bars in the United States and elsewhere — for $42 per share in cash, or approximately $1.4 billion.

MONTREAL — The Federal Trade Commission has approved a deal by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to buy a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based drug maker.

Valeant said the FRC had finished reviewing its planned acquisition of Medicis Pharmaceutical and allowed the waiting period required under merger and acquisition laws to terminate early.

Valeant said the deal is still subject to conditions like the approval of Medicis' stockholders, who will have a special meeting on Dec. 7. Medicis makes drugs for asthma, fungal infections and skin conditions like acne and eczema.

MINNEAPOLIS — A 2.9% third-quarter same-store sales increase and the sale of its credit card business pushed Target’s third-quarter profit up 17.6% to 96 cents a share.

Total sales increased 3.4% to $16.6 billion in the third quarter due to the 2.9% comp increase and the benefit of a net increase of 18 stores compared to the prior year. Target ended the period with 1,781 stores and was up against a challenging prior year comparison when comps advanced 4.3%.

As more Americans join the ranks of diabetics, the opportunity to target these consumers at the shelf becomes more crucial. 


Retailers like Rite Aid are using pull-box displays that allow customers to physically handle a blood-glucose meter before they make that purchase decision. That kind of consumer engagement, evident throughout Rite Aid’s latest Wellness format store, for example, helps anchor diabetes as a front-end destination center. 


After several lackluster years, cookie sales were up in 2011 and are likely to show slight gains this year. The category was buoyed largely by sales of basic cookies, according to a recent report from Mintel, while premium cookie sales were hurt by a tight economy and increased media attention on America’s obesity epidemic. Mintel forecasts more growth for the premium segment from 2013 to 2016.


With more people working from home, the office products category continues to expand. For the past year, sales of office supplies were up 4%, according to NPD analyst Lora Morsovillo, driven by sales of writing implements, mailing and shipping supplies, and office essentials, including paper clips and 
rubber bands.


Morsovillo said the trend toward personalization is evident in the category, creating more demand for products like coordinated pens 
and folders.

CINCINNATI — Kroger on Thursday announced it will acquire the outstanding shares of Axium Pharmacy Holdings, a leading specialty pharmacy, and merge the two companies.

The partnership gives Kroger significantly enhanced capabilities to serve customers who require complex drug therapies, and to deliver those therapies at a greater value to customers and insurance payers, the grocer stated. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Sales of facial anti-aging products continued to slip — perhaps as consumers continue to watch their spending or try to navigate the inundated anti-aging market — while sales of facial moisturizers experienced an uptick, according to data from SymphonyIRI Group.