Top Retailers

CINCINNATI — Kroger has launched its annual hunger awareness campaign, which is expected to generate $4 million in cash and food donations this year.

The Bringing Hope to the Table campaign, which kicked off Sunday and will run for two weeks, is designed to assist 80 local food banks — which are members of Feeding America — in communities where Kroger's customers and associates live and work. Since 2006, Kroger has contributed $30 million in food and funds to local food banks through the annual campaign.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has appointed president and CEO John Standley as chairman, the retail pharmacy chain said Friday.

Rite Aid announced that its board of directors had elected Standley to replace current chairman Mary Sammons, effective June 21. Sammons has served as chairman since June 2007 and plans to step down at the company's annual stockholder meeting.

WOONSOCKET, R.I., and MORRISTOWN, N.J. — CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic has formed a clinical affiliation with Atlantic Health System, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in New Jersey — comprised of Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children's Hospital, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, N.J., and Newton Medical Center — to enhance access to healthcare services in northern and central New Jersey.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The $317 billion problem of medication nonadherence has many sources that often combine and overlap in complex ways. But fears of whether a drug is safe and will work are among of the most frequently cited reasons why patients don't take their drugs as prescribed, or don't take them at all.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Adherence interventions targeted to nonadherent patients proved more effective in improving medication adherence when compared with broad interventions that cast a wide net to encompass all medication takers, according to new research sponsored by CVS Caremark.

According to the study, entitled "Targeting Cardiovascular Medication Adherence Interventions,” more than one-third of adherence interventions targeted to nonadherent patients resulted in improved medication adherence, compared with 18% of broad interventions.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco reported net sales of nearly $21.9 billion for the third quarter, an 8% increase over sales of about $20.2 billion for the same period last year.

Comparable-club sales for the quarter increased 5%, which consisted of a 5% increase in the United States and a 5% increase internationally. Excluding the impact of fuel, total comps were still up 5%, however U.S. comps were 4% and international comps were 8% when adjusted for gasoline inflation.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative certainly is a noble cause, but more than that, this is a prime example of Walgreens' active pursuit of an experience with its audience through the mediums that that audience chooses — in this case, Twitter. It represents a new paradigm in marketing as drug retailers and others swap a consumer reach and brand identity proposition for one of engagement and presence.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark released on Thursday a report showing that the company's Michigan operations directly and indirectly contributed more than $520 million to the state's gross domestic product in 2011 and, over the next 10 years, is projected to grow into the billions.