Center Store

CINCINNATI — Pampers is celebrating the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and the London 2012 Olympic Games with the launch of limited-edition diapers.

Pampers limited-edition USA diapers feature a "USA" logo print combined with red, white and blue stars and stripe designs and now are available, while supplies last, at select stores nationwide. The diapers — which were developed in celebration of Procter & Gamble's partnership with the London 2012 Olympic Games — are available in Cruisers sizes 3 through 5..

A mile high here at NACDS Marketplace 2012, spirits are riding about as high. All things considered, this is a pretty good time to be in the drug store business.

Pharmacy dollars and scripts are ahead of the overall trend, and on the front-end, dollars and trips are up considerably as consumers are trading trips to the big boxes for more quick trips to the drug store.

DENVER — The 2012 National Association of Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Conference kicked off Saturday morning with a bang as retailers and suppliers gathered for Meet the Market, a special program designed to provide attendees the opportunity to present and be presented with new products.

(For photos, click here.)



It may be more than just coincidence that Walgreens has decided to really blow the doors off of retail pharmacy in the same city that screams horsepower every year over Memorial Day weekend. Because even as those Indy 500 drivers are chugging their milk at the Brickyard, Walgreens’ pharmacists will be celebrating a victory of their own as they and their customers help redefine what “drug store” means in shopper parlance.

Retailers remain bullish on the As Seen On TV category. “Almost every As Seen On TV product outperforms other product categories in drug stores,” said AJ Khubani, CEO of TeleBrands. “The products have sell-through rates that are at least 10% and can approach 30%.”

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Lewis Drug is celebrating its 70th anniversary — a milestone that can be attributed, in part, to its willingness to embrace change.

“One of the most important things I learned about the retail business is that you need to change. You need to keep yourself fresh and creative, and things will work out,” said Mark Griffin, president and CEO of Lewis Drug, which currently operates more than 30 locations. “Obviously, in 70 years, things worked out well and we continue to evolve.”

How is it that some companies seem to thrive in an environment of uncertainty — even chaos — while most others fail? Understanding how the winners are able to embrace the paradox of control and the uncontrollable, and how two leading retail organizations are doing it every day across thousands of stores, was the key focus of the most recent Mack Elevation Forum meeting, held April 20 in Palm Beach, Fla.


UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — A new line of products from AllerMates is helping parents of children with allergies better protect kids against exposure to unwanted allergens. AllerMates, a line of bright, fun, whimsical character-driven wristbands, dog tags and lunch boxes feature 14 original characters that help alert teachers and caregivers to a child’s allergies.