Spartan shifts focus to pharmacy promotions

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Spartan Stores, which recently announced the acquisition of VG’s 15 supermarkets and pharmacies in the new-to-Spartan East Michigan market, promised last week the chain would focus on pharmacy promotions in the coming months. “We think there's something to the whole health piece that we haven't totally mined—and health and pharmacy I think is another area where you can expect to see us do even more in the coming months,” Dennis Eidson, Spartan Stores president and chief operating officers, told analysts during a call last week.

In addition to focusing on health, Spartan also plans to do more with fuel promotions, Eidson said, especially across it newly acquired stores, which do not currently field fuel centers. “I think you might see us doing a little bit more as it relates to fuel … because we feel like we are really getting some traction there,” he said.

“I want to express my enthusiasm for our recently announced pending acquisition of VG’s food and pharmacy operations,” Eidson said. “I am enthused because this acquisition provides us with a foothold in eastern Michigan, a market where we have no retail presence, and gives us an excellent growth platform in that marketplace.”