Center Store

ST. LOUIS — Energizer Holdings had sales of $1.095 billion in second quarter 2013, a 0.5% decrease from second quarter 2012, and $2.28 billion for the first six months of the fiscal year, which ended March 31, also a 0.5% decrease from the same period last year, the company said.

Profits for the quarter were $85 million, compared with $78 million last year.

BOSTON — Walgreens VP merchandising, store design and well experience Bryan Pugh walked DSN through the company’s newest flagship store, here, in downtown Boston, Tuesday, a day before the official ribbon cutting of the store.

MIAMI — A new line of tree-free, bamboo-based bath tissue from Green Hygienics, Inc. (GHI) is set to launch on retail shelves.

The exclusive license agreement will make this bath tissue the first ever tree-free, bamboo fiber-based toilet paper product available in North America, the company stated. The new products will be sold under GHI's Sensational brand.

SHAWNEE, Kan. — Bayer HealthCare has introduced a product for controlling fleas and ticks in dogs and cats that lasts eight months, the company's animal health division said Thursday.

Seresto is a collar that is designed to provide protection from parasites similar to that provided by monthly topical medications. The collar's active ingredients are flumethrin and imidacloprid, and the company said it kills fleas within 24 hours and ticks within 48 hours after application.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Zak Designs has announced a new GoPak container designed to make packing lunches easy and without the worry of messy spills.

NEW YORK — Two Hy-Vee stores in Iowa will start composting food waste, produce and floral trimmings, according to published reports.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gazette reported that Hy-Vee stores in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids had partnered with Des Moines, Iowa-based organics recycler Green RU, which will pick up the waste from the stores and haul it to nearby compost centers. The newspaper reported that the company was considering whether to expand the pilot program throughout the chain.

NEW YORK — Even decades of social change haven't changed one thing: women's continued dominance of the retail marketplace, according to a new study.

LOS ANGELES — Growth in spending on Mother's Day will be nearly flat this year as more Americans return to work and have less spare time, according to a new report by market research firm IBISWorld.

The report forecast a 0.2% rise in purchases on Mother's Day gifts this year over last year, for a total of $17.1 billion.