Financial News

DALLAS and HOUSTON — Kroger announced that its Southwest division currently is accepting applications for its annual Neighbor-to-Neighbor program.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark's board of directors has approved a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share.

The dividend is payable Aug. 2 to holders of record on July 22, the company noted.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens’ stock was trading up 30 cents to $43.03 on the New York Stock Exchange mid-morning on Wednesday thanks to favorable same-store sales growth of 4.8% for the month of June versus an analyst consensus estimate of 2.8%.


The latest vindicator to the almost $3.5 billion vitamin and supplement business across all outlets isn’t positive press. It’s not even the continued consumer gravitation toward self-care. It’s Wall Street. 


NEW YORK — Perhaps the most exciting recent development in the multivitamin segment is the success of gummy vitamins. Data from SymphonyIRI show that, while teen and infant vitamin sales are in decline, gummy vitamins for adults are driving growth within the category.


NEW YORK — Despite the do-it-yourself trend within beauty, depilatories experienced a slight dip in sales, according to data provided by SymphonyIRI Group.


Depilatories slipped 3.4% to $26.4 million during the 12 weeks ended May 15 across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI.


CHICAGO — Whether it’s soft, sexy waves, an elegant updo or frizz-free straight locks, hair is a woman’s greatest accessory, and many of the hottest looks are hard to achieve without the help of styling aids.


According to data provided by SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm, sales of hairspray totaled $416.5 million, up 0.52%, at food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart) for the 52 weeks ended May 15. Sales of hairstyling gel and mousse rose 1.78% to $636.2 million during that same period.



Photo-processing is evolving, but it is far from finished. “While consumers are capturing, deleting and electronically sharing more images than ever before, they also are motivated to print larger [photos] and utilize their special images in other product forms,” said Bing Liem, VP sales for Fujifilm North America.


Retailers are finding profit opportunities in the “expressions” market, according to Gary Pageau, publisher of content development and strategic initiatives at the Photo Marketing Association.