RETAIL NEWS

SEACAUCUS, N.J. — ECRM’s RangeMe online CPG platform has a new client. The Vitamin Shoppe has added the platform to its merchandise innovation and sourcing process, allowing its category managers to discover new products and brands that meet customers’ needs while fostering vendor relationships.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix is laying the foundations of a three-part partnership with BayCare Health System with the opening of three pharmacies, each of which is located inside a BayCare hospital. Publix is set to open pharmacies at two more hospitals, which will mark 10 Publix pharmacies in BayCare facilities. Each pharmacy will offer prescriptions when patients are discharged, as well as access to specialty medications and refills at any Public pharmacy location.

At Tops Friendly Markets, wellness has more than one side.

The multi-state food retailer puts an emphasis on health strategies for customers, with a range of efforts from pharmacy to food.

But Tops, based in Williamsville, New York, also prioritizes something else: wellness for its more than 15,000 employees. They are spread across approximately 180 retail locations in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts.

PLANO, Texas — As Walmart looks to centralize its merchandising activity planning process and establish standard operating procedures for in-store service providers, it has named sales and marketing company Crossmark as one of its preferred service providers. With the selection, Crossmark is one of five companies that can execute merchandising activity on behalf of suppliers in nearly 5,000 U.S. Walmart locations.

NEW YORK — The Emerson Group last month hosted its 10th Annual Retail Industry Day in a packed room, with hundreds of merchants eager to discover how to better position their products for tomorrow’s ever-evolving consumer.

They weren’t disappointed.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Health Mart showcased a number of ideas and solutions to help independent pharmacists improve their clinical, operational and financial performance during the National Community Pharmacists Association Annual Convention held here earlier this week.

Seeking to offer adult consumers more options in the tobacco category, Smokey Mountain Chew is introducing Airio, a pressurized filter that company officials say removes about 66% of the tar and other chemicals from a cigarette.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid announced Thursday that it is now accepting Apple Pay for purchases made on the company's e-commerce site, making Rite Aid the first pharmacy retailer to accept Apple Pay as a form of payment online.