Top Retailers

When Walgreens and Express Scripts finally came to terms and agreed to again do business with each other in mid-2012, it marked the formal end of one of the costliest disputes in the history of pharmacy retailing and managed care. 


Walgreens and ESI announced July 19 that they had “reached a multiyear pharmacy network agreement that includes rates and terms” that both sides could live with, although those terms were not disclosed. 


WOONSOCKET, R.I. — With nail care sales climbing by 40% since 2011 and growing by double-digits each year since 2008, CVS/pharmacy is making even more room in the store and is continuing to support demand for the latest innovations with its new Nail HQ kiosk, which showcases the hottest nail trends and 
product innovation.


Available in more than 2,000 CVS/pharmacy locations beginning in November, Nail HQ marks the latest innovation from CVS/pharmacy to improve the beauty shopping experience at the drug store.


A worse than expected 1% decline in November same store sales indicates the holiday season is off to a slow start at Target. The 1% decline was substantially worse than the low single digit increase the company forecast at the start of the month when it reported a 2.4% increase for October that was toward the low end of guidance.

The November weakness suggests traffic trends may be deteriorating at Target, as the company blamed the decline on a decrease in comparable store transactions following that metric’s flat performance in October.

An often-heard remark in arguments between people is, “You’re not looking at the big picture.” But it’s often just as important to look not just at the big picture, but all the little parts that constitute it, especially if you’re the head of store operations for a major retail chain.


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. 


Boehringer Ingelheim recently expanded its popular laxative brand with Dulcolax Laxative Tablets for Women, specifically formulated with a “comfort-coating” to protect a woman’s stomach. 


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.


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.