Though community pharmacy groups praised Congress’ decision last week to delay the accreditation deadline for pharmacies providing durable medical equipment (DME) under Medicare, they continue to seek an exemption for drug retailers.
Chain drug retailers may well escape the worst of what is expected to be a poor holiday sales season. Drug chains have been outperforming other trade classes, and demand for flu shots is expected to help sustain their momentum, notwithstanding generally gloomy forecasts for retailers overall.
Looking to solidify itself as New Yorkers’ drug chain of choice, Duane Reade Inc. has kicked off the second phase of a massive advertising campaign and launched an exclusive brand of food and beverages.
Drug store industry veteran George Riedl will leave Walgreen Co. at the end of the year. He currently serves as senior vice president of pharmacy innovation and purchasing for the retailer.
Robert Thompson has been promoted to executive vice president of pharmacy at Rite Aid Corp. Thompson, 56, had been the retailer’s senior vice president of pharmacy operations.
Duncan Mac Naughton has been named chief marketing officer at Wal-Mart Canada. The 47-year-old retail veteran had been executive vice president of merchandising and marketing at Supervalu Inc.
CVS Caremark and Walgreens both opened their 7,000th drug store earlier this fall, within a week of each other. CVS’ milestone store opened in a suburb of St. Paul, while Walgreens’ landmark unveiling took place in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, N.Y.
The commoditization of community pharmacy has come in for a good deal of criticism in recent years.
Congress has passed a bill that postpones the accreditation deadline through the end of the year for pharmacies providing durable medical equipment under Medicare. Under bill H.R. 3663, introduced by Reps. Zach Space (D., Ohio) and Lee Terry (R., Neb.
Pushing ahead with its Big Apple theme, Duane Reade Inc. is rolling out its second wave of print advertisements throughout New York City.
CVS Caremark Corp. projects that the number of low-income subsidy members enrolled in its Silverscript and Accendo Medicare Part D plans will fall by 30% to 35% next year.
Jim Donald, a former chief executive officer at Starbucks Inc. and Pathmark Stores Inc., this week was named president CEO of regional food and drug chain Haggen Inc. He succeeds Dale Henley, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
George Riedl, senior vice president of pharmacy innovation and purchasing at Walgreen Co., plans to leave the company at the end of the year.
Pharmacy groups this week expanded their legal action over Medicaid cutbacks to a fourth state, Minnesota.
A rebound in front-end business and strong pharmacy sales fueled a solid same-store sales gain at Walgreen Co. in September. The drug store chain said Friday that sales in comparable stores rose 5.3% for the month, more than doubling the 1.9% uptick in August and the 2% increase in July.
Walgreen Co. on Thursday celebrated hitting the 7,000-store mark nationwide with the grand opening of a new location in Brooklyn, New York.
