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MINNEAPOLIS — In an effort to increase the stickiness of Supervalu shoppers, Supervalu president and CEO Craig Herkert on Tuesday spoke of the company’s “hyper-local retailing” concept during a conference call with analysts.

Supervalu’s commitment to growing its Save-A-Lot discount banner and its participation in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America campaign were other significant programs Herkert believes will help differentiate the grocer enough to drive trips and increase consumer loyalty.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target opened on Monday three new retail-based health clinics in the Twin Cities as part of its expansion plan announced earlier this year.

As previously reported by Drug Store News, Target announced earlier this year plans to open eight new clinic locations this year in the Twin Cities (four clinics), Chicago (three clinics) and Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Fla., areas (one clinic) by the end of July. The first of the new clinics opened in the Twin Cities on March 2.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — In his July 20 letter to benefit consultants, Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness Kermit Crawford made a direct appeal to plan sponsors to either “select a PBM that includes Walgreens” or consider “direct arrangements with plans currently using Express Scripts, to the extent permitted by their contracts.” The letter also included an attached “template agreement that can be used to implement such direct arrangements where permitted,” for consideration.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — If the rumors that surfaced last week about Walmart eyeing Rite Aid for a possible buyout turn out to be true, it would be one of the biggest stories of the year: Walmart would acquire the country’s third-largest drug store chain and more than double its U.S. store count.

(THE NEWS: Report: Walmart may be eyeing Rite Aid. For the full story, click here)

CHICAGO — Access Community Health Network and Walgreens have extended their relationship to co-develop an integrated program to provide accessible preventive and primary health care for underserved populations, Access said Monday.

As part of the partnership, Walgreens will work with Access on the following initiatives:

• Create a pharmacy and therapeutics committee that will provide prescribing guidelines for all Access health centers to help every patient receive cost-effective, high-quality drug therapies;

In an exclusive video store tour, Walgreens president of daily living products and solutions Joe Magnacca walks Drug Store News editor Rob Eder and the DSN.TV cameras through the new Duane Reade flagship store at 40 Wall St. The first-ever co-branded Duane Reade-Walgreens store opened to the public July 6.



When Rite Aid chairman Mary Sammons accepted the Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., in May, it was the culmination of a career that had seen Rite Aid emerge from a period of darkness that had lasted more than a decade.


Sammons plans to stay on as chairman of Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid until the company’s annual meeting in June 2012. But when she does hang up the gloves, she will have a lot to look back on.



The 19th century British writer William Hickson may have written, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again,” but he only had half the story. By all means, try again, but don’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results.