Special Reports Archive

Pharmacy retailers always are looking for ways to leverage the resources they have in order to attract customers, whether they’re drug stores, supermarkets or mass merchandisers. One supermarket operator is using its gas stations to bring customers to the counter.


Navarro Discount Pharmacy, the largest 
Hispanic-owned pharmacy retailer in the United States is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. And it is on an aggressive growth track as it enhances its service offerings and looks to open as many as 21 new stores over the next three years.


Hannaford’s commitment to health and wellness made headlines back in 2006 when 
it implemented the innovative Guiding Stars system — the first storewide nutrition navigation system in the United States. Now, five years later, the company’s dedication to healthy living remains strong.


One has to admire a person who perseveres through hardship and difficulty, and the same goes for companies that keep going and keep trying, no matter what the market throws at them.


Regional player Fruth Pharmacy is re-
energizing its business. “We are entering our 59th year of business and trying to continue to provide that small-town, quality customer service while staying competitive and on the cutting edge with all of the programs that are out there on the pharmacy side,” said Lynne Fruth, chairman and newly appointed Fruth president. 


ShopRite is striving to help its shoppers shop right by focusing on health and wellness and added convenience. To help customers live healthier lives, the grocer has, at select locations, an on-site registered dietitian. 


Wakefern implemented the retail dietitian program in 2006, and today there are 20 retail dietitians working in 23 ShopRite locations.


The way chief executive R. David Yost sees it, AmerisourceBergen Corp.’s Good Neighbor Pharmacy program is a bulwark for independent pharmacists against the pressures of a brutally competitive pharmacy market and an unforgiving economy.


Rite Aid recently has put into play a number of forward-looking initiatives to help improve operations, particularly across pharmacy. The Pennsylvania-based retailer last month announced its test market of six new Wellness store prototypes, and after successfully testing a 15-minute prescription guarantee in three states, Rite Aid expanded that guarantee to all states except New York.