RETAIL NEWS

Bartell Drugs has more than 60 stores sprinkled throughout the Puget Sound region, with each location featuring its own distinct neighborhood vibe and products. It’s a chain with an eye on growth and innovation, and a string of initiatives in the works, yet it never loses sight of its deep Northwest roots.

Shopko Pharmacy had an excellent 2016, led by total prescription growth and increased days of supply, with continued growth in 90-day fills as a percent of prescription fills. “A key driver of our growth was our passion for providing personalized service in all of our pharmacies, with short wait times, expert medication advice and chronic disease counseling,” Darren Singer, Shopko’s SVP, health and wellness, told Drug Store News.

The retail behemoth of Bentonville, Ark., wants to lead Americans to better health habits, better nutritional choices and longer, healthier lives. It’s an ambitious mission for any retail chain, but given its long reach into the nation’s heartland, its enormous marketing clout and its massive consumer drawing power, Walmart’s ability to boost the nation’s health and longevity index may be unmatched by any other single entity save the U.S. government.

There is no question that one of the top nonprescription categories contributing to both sales and foot traffic right now is allergy. According to IRI data, sales of nasal sprays — the category that captures all of the latest nasal corticosteroid Rx-to-OTC switches, such as Flonase and Nasacort — are up 10.2% to $1.2 billion across total U.S. multi-outlets for the 52 weeks ended Feb. 19.

Albertsons is proving that the sum can indeed be greater than the parts. Following the 2015 merger of Albertsons and Safeway — both of which had long and distinguished records of providing health-and-wellness services — the combined company is continuing that tradition. It has expanded several of its pharmacy- and health-related offerings as it shares best practices across the company and introduces new programs companywide.

WASHINGTON — The retail industry is ramping up its efforts against House Republicans’ proposed border-tax proposal.  
The National Retail Federation has launched the next phase of a television and digital ad campaign against the tax, which is included in the House Republican tax reform plan.

A pioneer in supermarket pharmacy retailing, H-E-B has been operating in-store pharmacies since the 1950s, when it opened its first full-scale supermarkets, some 50 years after founder Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store in Kerrville, Texas, with a $60 initial investment. But over the past decade, the Texas-based supermarket and pharmacy powerhouse also has been at the forefront of the movement among supermarket pharmacy operators to expand their stores’ health-and-wellness outreach beyond the pharmacy and into the food aisles.