Top Retailers

QUINCY, Mass. — Ahold's 756 stores in the Northeast will no longer carry a beef filler product that has attracted significant controversy among consumers lately.

Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle simultaneously announced that they would no longer purchase ground beef containing finely textured beef, which often is derided as "pink slime" due to its pink color and viscous texture.

NEW YORK — Rite Aid has become the latest chain to join the retail smartphone application game.

The Camp Hill, Pa.-based retail pharmacy chain recently launched an app for smartphones that allows users to refill prescriptions by scanning their barcodes or entering the prescription number, transfer prescriptions, manage their Wellness+ loyalty card accounts, view weekly circulars and compile shopping lists, among other features.

The app is available for major smartphone brands including the Apple iPhone and Android phones.

NEW YORK — Walgreens and Duane Reade stores are facing off on a challenge regarding which banner can raise the most funds over a four-week period in the fall in support of the American Diabetes Association Greater New York City Area, the ADA announced Monday.

Duane Reade will conduct the campaign in October and Walgreens will conduct the campaign in November.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — Supervalu banner Shop 'n Save Pharmacy has joined the UnitedHealth Group's Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Former Walgreens' CEO Jeff Rein said profit pressure might cause Walgreens to think differently about acquisitions than it did in the past. The loss of Express Scripts patients (who are incidentally taking their prescriptions to the nearest Walgreens competitor), coupled with a significant generic wave through 2012 — moreso in the back half of the year — potentially could keep Walgreens from posting a profit through fiscal 2012. "Walgreens is in a real poor position here," Rein said.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The news that CVS/pharmacy is closing all of its upscale Beauty360 stores may have raised a few eyebrows — or perhaps not — but now it will be interesting to see the changes that occur in store and online in beauty.

(THE NEWS: CVS/pharmacy to close all Beauty360 locations. For the full story, click here)

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is sponsoring skin cancer screenings at dozens of stores across the country as part of a tour that begins this month and ends in August, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

Rite Aid said the Skin Cancer Foundation would travel across the country in a 38-ft. RV to more than 50 Rite Aid locations as part of the Road to Healthy Skin Tour, which Aveeno also is co-sponsoring, starting this week.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will provide prevention and screening services to adults in underserved communities in a program it is sponsoring with AARP, the company said Thursday.