RITE AID

CHICAGO — With many businesses implementing customer reward programs to drive sales, it seems that the ones that promise everyday value and rewards fare better than their counterparts, according to new research.

The Recommendation Index, conducted by marketing agency Zocalo Group and M/A/R/C Research, analyzed 1,000 reward program participants, who were asked about brands they most often positively and negatively recommended, and the attributes they used to make their recommendations.

DUSSELDORF, Germany — Henkel's Got2b hair care brand is bringing to the U.S. market its Powder'ful volumizing styling powder.

The Got2b Powder'ful volumizing styling powder is formulated with virtually weightless microparticles designed to help texturize the hair's surface, giving hair root lift in 10 seconds. Shake the powder onto dry hair to give hair an immediate volume boost.

The product will be available in March at Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Ulta and Meijer locations for $5.99.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — According to the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend more than $116 on Valentine’s Day, and shoppers will spend 11% more at flower shops, candy stores and retailers this year than last year.

Retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid said Monday it would be ready to sell chocolates, stuffed animals, trinkets and cards to last-minute shoppers.

These include Valentine’s Day cards for students and such novelty gifts as key chains, Lotto for Lovers scratch cards and bags of chocolate hearts for less than $1.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Tony Montini returned to Rite Aid just in time to help leverage what is becoming a very powerful Wellness+ loyalty card program that has cracked the code for the chain in terms of tying the front-end to the back bench by way of the patient. 


And while Montini returns to the retail ranks as SVP category management, he is well-prepared to make Wellness+ work gangbusters with the supplier community. His background is in corporate marketing with advertising agency Marc USA, where he was EVP and COO. 


SALT LAKE CITY — “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels continues to dominate flab on the small screen and at the diet shelf, too. Last month’s NBC mid-season premier captured 9 million viewers, up 14% from its previous season end, according to published reports. And Jillian Michaels diet aids garnered $20.8 million, up 273.7%, for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 26, 2010, according to SymphonyIRI Group data across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart).


CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid on Thursday morning posted a same-store sales increase of 1.1% for the four weeks ended Jan. 22, including a 2.2% lift across the front-end and growth of 0.6% in pharmacy comparable sales.

Prescription count at comparable stores was flat compared with the prior-year period.

Total drug store sales were $1.9 billion, which is flat as compared with the same period last year. Prescription revenue accounted for 69.1% of drug store sales, and third-party prescription revenue represented 93.3% of pharmacy sales.

NEW YORK — The Motley Fool on Tuesday suggested all three national pureplay drug chains were in a better position today than five and three years ago based on a metric called the “cash king margin.”

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid on Monday sweetened the pot for those loyalty card members braving the cold and visiting the pharmacy in February.

With the purchase of $100 or more of specially marked products throughout the store, Rite Aid’s Wellness+ cardholders can earn a $20 +Up Reward, and at the same time be automatically entered into a sweepstakes featuring more than $100,000 in prizes, as part of Rite Aid's new Winter Rewards Program through Feb. 26.