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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.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Tuesday reported first-quarter fiscal 2012 net sales of $11.1 billion (down 3.7% versus last year) and net earnings of $74 million (up 10.4%), or 35 cents per diluted share. Posted net earnings beat the analyst consensus of 33 cents per diluted share.

CINCINNATI — Kroger on Tuesday promoted Donna Giordano to the role of president of the Ralphs division.

Giordano, 57, has been president of the company's Quality Food Centers division, based in Seattle, since 2002. She succeeds Mike Donnelly, who was recently promoted to SVP merchandising for Kroger.

NEW YORK — Financial services firm Credit Suisse tabulated total basket increases of 2.7% year over year and 1% month over month for retail.

“Our monthly pricing survey in Dallas and Chicago showed that all retailers raised prices on a year-over-year and month-over-month basis with the exception of Jewel [a Supervalu banner operating in Chicago],” Credit Suisse research analyst Ed Kelly wrote in a note published Monday.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it is opening a new concept store in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park that will provide a tailored grocery offering and a broad variety of general merchandise.

Called Meijer Marketplace, the new store will be 96,000 sq. ft., about half the size of Meijer's largest supercenters.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — PNI Digital Media on Monday announced an agreement with Walgreens to provide and operate an online stationery service for the Chicago-based pharmacy.

The service will allow Walgreens customers to create and customize unique cards, invitations and other printed material, including personalized photobooks and photo calendars, wedding invitations and business cards.

According to reports, the PNI Digital Media Platform reaches more than 14,000 retail locations around the world, 9,000 of which offer a one-hour pickup service.

NEWTON SQUARE, Pa. — Boiron is making headway introducing a whole new natural external pain reliever into the mass outlet, having earlier this year won distribution through Walgreens and Duane Reade of its arnica gel Arnicare. And Arnicare already is the natural channel’s fastest-growing homeopathic topical pain relief brand, experiencing growth of 67.5% against sales of $5.9 million for the 52 weeks ended April 17, according to Nielsen. 


Health care is like precision engineering; tweaking one element ever so slightly can mean the difference between a healthy life and an early death or, in the case of drug spending, between nearly $50,000 and just north of $1,000.