RITE AID

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Anyone who has ever managed a retail operation at the store level knows — perception is reality.

(THE NEWS: Independent pharmacies earn top scores from Consumer Reports readers. For the full story, click here.)

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Sales at Rite Aid fell during fiscal year 2011, according to financial results announced Thursday, but it appears the company may have gained some momentum, reversing negative same-store sales trends in the fourth quarter.

NEW YORK — Retailers rank among the highest for their customer service, according to a new report by the Temkin Group.

The consulting and research firm analyzed responses from 6,000 consumers, found that Amazon.com ranked No. 1 for providing an "excellent" customer experience, coming in with a ranking of 81.3%. A business qualifies for an "excellent" rating when their score is 80% or higher, Temkin said.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Thousands of Rite Aid customers across the United States can get free, full-body skin cancer screenings this spring.

The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Road to Healthy Skin Tour will visit more than 60 Rite Aid stores in 19 states, sponsored by the retail pharmacy chain and Aveeno. The tour has screened more than 10,000 people since 2008, according to Rite Aid, catching 3,700 potential skin cancers and precancers, including about 200 suspected cases of the deadly skin cancer melanoma.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Total and front-end same-store sales at Rite Aid decreased during March, while pharmacy sales and prescriptions filled increased, the pharmacy retailer said Thursday.

Compared with last year, front-end same-store sales decreased by 1.8% during the four-week period that ended March 26, which the 4,711-store chain attributed to Easter falling on a later date this year, April 24, than last year, when it occurred on April 4.

PITTSBURGH — GNC is ready to pull the trigger on a long-anticipated initial public offering this Friday, according to several published reports.

It’ll be the third bite of the IPO apple for the Pittsburgh-based specialty chain. But if any time is a right time, that time is now, the company suggested in its prospectus, pointing to the graying of the baby boomer, coupled with increased pursuit of healthier lifestyles, which makes for a strong investment proposition for an already-established specialty channel retailer.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — In a sneeze heard around the world, allergy season is afoot, but the country’s retail pharmacies are on call to help the estimated 60 million Americans whose sneezing, coughing, watery eyes and congestion will drive them to wit’s end this year.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — A decision by the Food and Drug Administration to lower the age at which patients can receive a vaccine for shingles opens the door for pharmacists to administer it to more patients.

Rite Aid said Tuesday that pharmacists at more than 2,100 of its stores now could vaccinate patients ages 50 years and older with Merck’s Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) thanks to the FDA’s approval of the vaccination for patients in that age group. Previously, it was only approved for patients ages 60 years and older.