Holiday retail sales edge up in 2015
Drug chains were not immune to the shift in holiday shopping away from brick-and-mortar retailing. Holiday retail sales growth barely exceeded 4%, down from last season’s 4.4% advance and well off the 5.
Retail News
Gallup: Pharmacists get high marks for trust
Pharmacists rank high in terms of public trust, but they fall short of being No. 1. Nurses topped Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics of Professions rankings for 2015, a feat that the profession has accomplished every year but one since it was added to the list in 1999. The exception is 2001, when
Lawmakers see pharmacists as linchpin for MTM
A bipartisan coalition of congressmen is urging the participation of retail pharmacists in a new initiative to improve the use of medication therapy management (MTM) in Medicare. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said Wednesday that 44 members of the U.S.
NCPA finds strong support for med sync
Both patients and pharmacists give high marks to medication synchronization programs, according to a recent survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association.
WBA makes financing move for Rite Aid acquisition
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Inc. has completed $12.8 billion in term loan facilities as part of the financing for its $17.2 billion deal to acquire Rite Aid Corp. WBA said Monday that the transactions include the placement of $5 billion of term loan facilities — split between two tranches of $2.
Walmart names Rogers chief marketing officer
Tony Rogers reportedly has been appointed as chief marketing officer at Walmart. Published reports said Friday that Rogers, a 10-year company veteran who has been CMO of Walmart China for the past two years, succeeds Stephen Quinn, who is retiring.
Rite Aid 3Q earnings meet Wall Street’s forecast
Rite Aid Corp. posted fiscal 2016 third-quarter adjusted earnings in line with Wall Street estimates and announced a special shareholders meeting to vote on its $17.2 billion deal to be acquired by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Rite Aid said Thursday that for the third quarter ended Nov.
Former House Speaker Boehner to keynote NACDS Annual Meeting
John Boehner, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the keynote address at the 2016 NACDS Annual Meeting. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said that Boehner (R.
Rite Aid deploys EQuIPP Rx performance platform chainwide
Pharmacists in Rite Aid Corp.’s nearly 4,600 drug stores are now using the EQuIPP pharmacy performance measurement platform from Pharmacy Quality Solutions (PQS). Rite Aid said Wednesday that it’s the largest drug chain to enable EQuIPP access to all of its pharmacists.
CVS closes purchase of Target pharmacies, clinics
CVS Health has completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Target Corp.’s pharmacy and retail health clinic business. The companies said Wednesday that Target’s 1,672 pharmacies in 47 states will be branded as CVS/pharmacy and operated under a store-within-a-store format.
CVS Health’s Merlo: ‘No one is better positioned’
At its annual Analyst Day event here, CVS Health updated its earnings guidance for 2016 and reiterated its five-year targets.
Walgreens, Valeant plan direct distribution model
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Walgreens have entered agreements in which the drug maker will directly distribute branded prescription drugs in a range of therapeutical areas to the pharmacy chain at reduced pricing.
FTC requests more info on WBA-Rite Aid deal
The Federal Trade Commission has requested additional information from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. regarding WBA’s proposed acquisition of Rite Aid.
Report: Walmart marketing chief to step down
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Stephen Quinn reportedly is retiring next month as Walmart’s chief marketing officer. The discounter intends to hire Michael Francis, who spent nearly 27 years at Target Corp., as a marketing consultant, according to an article Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.
Walmart launches own mobile payment platform
Despite the emergence of multiple mobile payment platforms, Walmart has gone ahead and launched its own: Walmart Pay.
NCPA urges more scrutiny of generic drug pricing
In tandem with a congressional hearing, the National Community Pharmacists Association called on lawmakers to take a closer look at recent generic drug price hikes and their impact on patients and community pharmacists.