WALGREENS

HOUSTON — Walgreens’ Safe Medication Disposal Program, launched in September 2010 in partnership with Sharps Compliance, has collected more than 15,000 lbs. of unused or expired medications, Walgreens announced Monday.

“We estimate that more than 200 million lbs. of unused dispensed medications are disposed of improperly each year,” Sharps Compliance president and CEO David Tusa said.


The new-look Duane Reade stores feature a special Papyrus section in the greeting card aisle. Papyrus — known for its posh collection of greeting cards, gift wrap, stationery and other unique gift products — certainly has lent an air of distinction to the department with its upscale fixtures and sleek design.


Cards for all occasions, including birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, are merchandised attractively in the more than 8 ft. of space devoted to the section.

The time is now to move any breast-feeding products from the floor of the baby care aisle to eye level — as Walgreens has done here — because mom’s interest in the category received two big boosts earlier this year.


Walgreens dove into the digital beauty space earlier this year with a new and interactive website aimed at providing beauty mavens with real solutions to real makeup, hair and fashion dilemmas.


Walgreens.com/BeautyWithin offers step-by-step advice from beauty pros on how to achieve skin, hair and makeup looks, as well as video episodes highlighting everyday women and their personal beauty challenges.


Perhaps concerned that customers might shift their prescriptions after its acquisition, Duane Reade is reminding shoppers that far from reducing services, ownership by Walgreens means expanded services. 


Thanks to this poster at a Duane Reade store at the corner of Park Avenue and 56th Street in New York, customers know that they can pick up their prescriptions at any of Walgreens’ more than 7,000 stores in all 
50 states.


Call it “the attack of the coupon-crazed shelf sweepers.” It’s the most aggressive form of bargain hunting by consumers willing to spend hours searching out coupon deals, to stock up with enough product to last their families for a year and to turn their homes into veritable warehouses.


Walgreens, the kaleidoscopic company that wants to “own well,” is shuffling management and realigning operations as it works to knock down its remaining internal silos and create a seamless, broad-based retail health-and-
wellness dynamo.


There’s nothing like a recession for focusing merchants on what matters most. For USA Drug, that meant concentrating on core markets, cutting costs and recharging its image for down-home value, neighborly service and a broadly merchandised front end focused on local consumer preferences.