RITE AID

The entirety of Rite Aid’s marketing message can really be broken down to just two simple, yet powerful words: 
wellness empowerment. 


It is those two words that have helped inform Rite Aid’s entire wellness platform, from the introduction of its wellness+ loyalty card program in 2010 to the rollout of its new Wellness stores, beginning in 2011. It is those two words that have helped reinvigorate Rite Aid’s business — from how the store is formatted and how it looks, to the energy that pops among Rite Aid’s Wellness Ambassadors. 


Drug stores, especially chain drug stores, brand themselves differently. But once customers step through the doors, they tend to only see slight variations of the same thing: the same shelves, too tall for mere humans to reach the top without a ladder; the same product categories every other drug store carries; the same pharmacy counter in the back of the store; and the same cash registers in the front. Some stores have carpets, others have tile floors.


NEW YORK — As New York City enjoyed the first snowfall of the winter season, industry leaders gathered for the 14th annual Industry Issues Summit to discuss the top issues and trends impacting the industry, including the importance of seizing “whitespaces.”

The all-day event was held on Tuesday at the New York Athletic Club, located just across the street from Central Park.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is offering Black Friday discounts early at its stores this year.

The retail pharmacy chain said it would open its stores from at least 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and emailing Black Friday survival guides with shopping tips and savings to customers. The National Retail Federation predicts that 71 million shoppers will visit retailers over Black Friday weekend.

Kroger announced Thursday it will acquire the outstanding shares of Axium Pharmacy Holdings, a leading specialty pharmacy, and merge the two companies. By now, it should be clear that specialty is becoming an increasingly important part of the retail pharmacy mix, having grown more than sixfold in revenues between 2000 and 2011, with everyone from Rite Aid to Costco to Hy-Vee biting off a piece for themselves.

WASHINGTON and WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Residents in counties across the country that participate in the National Association of Counties' Prescription Discount Card Program have saved more than $500 million on their prescription medications since the launch of the program in 2004, according to data released by NACo and CVS Caremark.

CLEVELAND — People with diabetes in Cleveland enrolled in UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored health plans can obtain free diabetes management services from Rite Aid, the retail pharmacy chain said Friday.

The chain's pharmacists are participating in the Diabetes Control Program, part of UnitedHealth Group's Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, which is aimed at addressing the problem of Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Mike Cirilli has joined Rite Aid as senior director of OTC and private label, Rite Aid said.

With 29 years of work experience in retail category management and merchandising, Cirilli most recently was VP merchandising with Duane Reade, where he worked for 16 years, and was a director and VP supply chain for Krasdale Foods. At Rite Aid, he will report to group VP category management Bill Bergin.

A native of New York, Cirilli earned his bachelor degree in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University.