Report: Fred's to open two stores in Kentucky

CAVE CITY, Ky. According to a report published Wednesday in the Glasgow Daily Times, Fred’s plans to open two stores, both with pharmacies, in south-central Kentucky early next year.

Overall, Fred’s derives one-third of its sales from pharmacy operations, a growing department within the discounter chain.

“One of our top priorities continues to be leveraging pharmacy operations at a competitive advantage over our small box discount competitors,” Bruce Efird, Fred’s CEO and president, told analysts during an August conference call. “Our pharmacy team delivered solid script comp growth in the quarter [ended Aug. 1]. We will continue to invest in pharmacy file buys and acquisitions to augment organic growth.”