General Merchandise

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is ready for the holiday season with an array of new offerings for holiday shoppers, including 1,000 greeting card designs and new personalized smartphone and tablet cases.

SOLON, Ohio — Overall, promotional trade spend for Black Friday was down 15% for 2012 compared to 2011, according to an ECRM report released last week.

SPOKANE, Wash. — After the huge success of Marvel's "The Avengers" movie this past summer, a new generation of kids were turned on to one of the most popular superhero teams of all time. To capitalize on this burgeoning new fanbase, Zak Designs is launching a new line of mealtime products based on the blockbuster hit.

SHAWNEE, Kan. — Bayer HealthCare's animal-health division has introduced a new spray for killing ticks in cats and dogs, the company said.

The company debuted Resultix at the opening of BarkWorld Expo, a pet social media conference in Atlanta that took place on Oct. 26.

The spray is designed to dissolve the outer wax layer that covers the tick's cuticle, its hard shell, resulting in the parasite's uncontrollable water loss and death within three hours.

By the time it had unveiled the latest evolution of its hot, new Wellness store concept this fall in Lemoyne, Pa., Rite Aid was coming off seven consecutive quarters of Adjusted EBITDA and same-store prescription count growth — the strongest growth period for the company in several years.

The economy continues to be the single largest influencer in the growth of the health, beauty and wellness industry. The annual inflation rate has averaged just more than 2% during the past five years. More than ever, consumers are focused on living well with less and are making every effort to save money. Manufacturers are struggling to manage the ever-increasing cost of goods sold, and retailers are under tremendous pressure to increase profits in a very competitive environment.


The success of Rite Aid’s Wellness store is in the experience. It’s welcoming. It’s engaging. And across various touchpoints throughout the store, it helps guide Rite Aid customers toward however it is they define “well.” That’s as much a function of design of the stores as it is the people and the products in those stores.


Sales of primary batteries used in consumer products should grow 2.4% each year, according to research from Freedonia Group.


That’s good news for a category that has seen a fair share of decline in recent years. Freedonia Group sees a shift in the product mix toward more expensive primary batteries, particularly superpremium alkaline and primary 
lithium products.


Alkaline batteries will continue to dominate the market, and should generate 84% of sales in 2015.