WALGREENS

Overdrive.


Increasingly, chains that traditionally have not been major forces in food retailing are making bigger commitments than ever to fresh — including meat, produce and dairy — in an effort not only to help solve the nation’s growing health crisis and expand Americans’ access to nutritious food options, but also to create new reasons for customers to shop their stores.


Greater consumer awareness of the dangers of the sun’s harmful rays and greater product innovation are spelling growth in the sun care market. And, as the industry wades through the recently issued regulations by the Food and Drug Administration, new innovative products for both children and adults hit the pipeline, which is likely to mean further growth.

NEENAH, Wis. — Santal Solutions last week announced its dietary supplement Assurance Blood Health Support has gained distribution through Rite Aid and Walgreens.

“We are excited that Assurance Blood Health Support is on the shelves of major retailers,” Santal president Dennis Torkko said. “This reinforces the strength of the product and provides an all-natural option for those individuals that are concerned about blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.”


NEW YORK — The race is on to capture tomorrow’s click-and-pick shopper — that multichannel consumer who, with a click, wields her phone as an omniscient shopping tool and then either picks her product off the shelf or picks where that product will be waiting for her, be it at a nearby store or in her mailbox. 


NEW YORK — Duane Reade unveiled on Tuesday its new flagship store at the iconic 40 Wall St. — an impressive co-branded location that undoubtedly represents a milestone as it brings together under one roof the best ideas of Duane Reade and Walgreens and leverages innovative technology throughout to enhance the shopping experience.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Somehow, someway, Walgreens will be the first to figure out how to beam a prescription right into a patient's medicine cabinet "Star-Trek" style. Because as sure as the chain's e-commerce president Sona Chawla is to Walgreens as Scotty is to the USS Enterprise, Walgreens is moving at light speed in monetizing and capitalizing on multichannel retailing. And the chain hasn't even got its multichannel engines really revved yet.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Wednesday unveiled plans to establish deeper roots on its home turf with its “Chicago Hometown Investment Initiative,” a plan that will create an estimated 600 new jobs in the city over the next two years and will quadruple the number of Walgreens’ food oasis stores.

YONKERS, N.Y. — Important safety information often is missing from drug labels, while some pharmacies don’t include medication guides required by the federal government, according to a new investigation by Consumer Reports.