RETAIL NEWS

Walgreens is making a push to bring telemedicine services to stores through a new partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian. The partnership will bring access to telehealth services from New York’s top hospital via NYP OnDemand kiosks for shoppers at the Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer’s Duane Reade banner, as well as through its digital properties.

Supervalu has completed the previously announced acquisition of Associated Grocers of Florida, in a transaction valued at approximately $193 million. This marks the second completed acquisition for Minneapolis-based Supervalu whose national distribution center continues to expand with annual sales of approximately $560 million reported in its last fiscal year.

The discounter, which said 84% of Americans are still shopping for the holidays, is making a big push for its same day in-store pickup service. It’s made more items eligible for the service than ever before. Also, customers will be able to shop for qualifying items, notated with “Free Pickup Today,” online until 4 p.m. local time on Dec. 23. The items can be picked up in stores until 6 p.m. on Dec, 24.

Investment firm KKR and minority investor Walgreens Boots Alliance, based in Deerfield, Ill., on Thursday closed its acquisition of PharMerica, a provider of specialty pharmacy services.

The deal, first announced in August, was closed ahead of schedule. The all-cash transaction is valued at roughly $1.4 billion and will make PharMerica a private company. In connection with the completion of the acquisition, shares of PharMerica’s common stock will cease trading on the NYSE prior to the opening of the NYSE on Dec. 8, 2017.

Ahold Delhaize on Thursday named Kevin Holt CEO of its newly minted Ahold Delhaize USA division, which will serve as the parent company for all of Ahold Delhaize's U.S. companies, including its local brands, Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Giant/Martin's and Peapod, as well as Retail Business Services, the U.S. shared services company providing support to the brands.

The discounter will execute approximately 2,000 real estate projects in fiscal 2018. The emphasis will be on remodeling. Dollar General plans to open 900 new stores (compared to an estimated 1,285 new units in fiscal 2017), remodel 1,000 existing sites and relocate 100 stores (compared to 760 combined remodels and relocations this year).

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Wednesday extended its retail pharmacy acumen into China by taking a 40% stake in Sinopharm Holding GuoDa Drugstores in a deal worth approximately $416 million.