Drugstore.com shop opens on Facebook
Drugstore.com is looking to turn its Facebook fans into shoppers. Late last month drugstore.com and sister site Beauty.com launched a virtual store on the popular social media portal.
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Three-year store opening plan unveiled by Navarro
Navarro Discount Pharmacy plans to add as many as 20 stores over the next three years as the drug chain expands beyond Florida’s Miami-Dade County. The strategy includes five new drug stores this year, seven new outlets in 2011 and eight new units in 2013. This year, the first new store will be
Kinney slates Rx collection days
Kinney Drugs has scheduled medicine collection days this month and in March.
Winter Rewards offered by Rite Aid
Members of Rite Aid Corp.’s wellness+ program can earn a “$20 +UP Reward” and be automatically entered into a sweepstakes featuring over $100,000 in prizes as part of the retailer’s Winter Rewards program.
NACDS introduces a ‘guide on the go’
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has launched NACDS Mobile, a mobile web site that serves as a “guide on the go” to the organization’s meetings, advocacy and public relations. The site, http://m.NACDS.org, is designed for ease of use on any smartphone with a web browser.
Walgreens strengthens its leadership team
Walgreen Co. has promoted several executives and created a new position in its upper management ranks. Among those promoted was senior vice president of e-commerce Sona Chawla, who has been elevated to president of e-commerce.
Walmart pushes healthy food
With a growing number of the industry’s largest drug chains putting more emphasis on food, last month’s announcement by Walmart that it will reduce salt and sugar in its processed products in the next five years and lower the price of its fruit and vegetables is likely to be a game changer.
Pharmaca goes green at new unit
Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy has become this city’s only pharmacy using solar power. The drug store chain installed 20 panels on the awning of its downtown store at 1647 Pearl St. in Boulder, Colo.
Roundtable: What’s coming up next in Rx tech
Accompanying the sweeping changes augured by health care reform are ongoing changes from advances in technology, which are opening doors for the retail pharmacy sector with new solutions. With implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as other factors reshaping the U.
Retail Rx reaches new frontier in health care technology
Smartphones and other digital technologies have a role to play in making drug therapies and other health care services more effective, chain drug retailers say. Walgreen Co. has developed mobile applications for iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices, the company’s chief medical officer, Dr.
CVS expands Medicare Part D business
CVS Caremark Corp. agreed late last month to acquire the Medicare Part D business of Universal American Corp. However, some say the pending $1.25 billion deal for the Rye Brook, N.Y.-based company could open CVS up to further charges of engaging in anticompetitive practices.
Despite bad climate, drug chains grow sales
A strong finish helped the chain drug industry post solid sales for 2010. Industry sales volume advanced 5.4% for the year to $238.3 billion, with same-store sales climbing 2.6%, according to research by Racher Press, the publisher of Chain Drug Review.
ExtraCare Beauty Club introduced by CVS
CVS/pharmacy has launched what it says is the industry’s first beauty club program. Unveiled during the People’s Choice Awards television broadcast earlier this month, the opt-in ExtraCare Beauty Club is an extension of the chain’s ExtraCare loyalty program launched in 2001.
Rite Aid puts spotlight on Resolution Rewards program
Rite Aid Corp. is encouraging its customers to use their wellness+ cards by giving them a chance to win an array of prizes. Through January 22, shoppers who use the Rite Aid loyalty card will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a vacation, fitness equipment, personal
Emphasis on medication adherence intensifies
Two recent studies from CVS Caremark Corp. and a call from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores for further research into the matter are helping to draw attention to the importance of medication adherence.
Health care reform still contentious
The battle over the health care reform bill President Obama signed into law last spring continues, with incoming Republicans in the House vowing to undo the law. An out-and-out repeal of the health care reform law, which House Republicans aim to push for, seems unlikely.