General Merchandise

CINCINNATI — Oral-B announced today the newest addition to its line of Professional Series power toothbrushes: the Deep Sweep Triaction toothbrush.

CLEVELAND — "Romantic," "sweet" and "funny" are three of the words that might describe American Greetings' line of Valentine's Day cards for this year.

The company highlighted one card in its American Greetings Premier collection that says, "Will you make me the happiest person in the world … Will you marry me?" saying the entire collection was designed for people seeking a "sophisticated touch."

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is touting its stores as a "one-stop shop" for Valentine's Day shopping.

The retail pharmacy chain said Tuesday that stores had stocked up on items like cards and candy, including chocolates from companies like Hershey's, Lindt, Dove, Ferrero Rocher, Ghirardelli, Godiva and others.

NEW YORK — Leading private-label supplier Perrigo has acquired pet health company Velcera for $160 million.

The deal follows last fall’s acquisition of Sergeants and signals Perrigo’s intent to accelerate growth in areas beyond its traditional businesses of consumer health care, nutrition products and prescriptions. Velcera is a pet health company best known for its PetArmor brand of flea and tick products that are widely available at retailers nationwide, much to the chagrin of veterinarians. PetArmor had sales of $60 million last year.

LOS ANGELES — The All American Pet Co. said its new line of nutrition bars for dogs is on its way to Walmart.

The company said Thursday that its three SKUs of NutraBars were on their way to "the world's largest retailer" for its first purchase order, though it didn't mention Walmart by name.

"We can get the retailer, but we can't write the retailer's purchase order," AAPT CEO Barry Schwartz said. "We created the bar and have the capabilities to meet the demand."

LOS ANGELES — Consumers expect to spend slightly more on Valentine's Day merchandise this year than last year, according to a report by market research firm IBISWorld.

The report forecasts spending of $134.08 per person, compared with last year's $133.99. Total revenue for the holiday is expected to grow by 3.2%, to $20.8 billion, despite incomes and consumer sentiments remaining below what they were before the recession.

Walmart recently announced that it would source $50 billion of the products sold in its stores in the United States over the next 10 years, according to a report in USA Today.

DALLAS — In the height of the one of the worst flu seasons in recent years, Kleenex is hand-delivering care packs to unsuspecting fans all across North America. Three fans will receive what could be the surprise of a lifetime.