WALGREENS

Mass market doors might not be the prime destination for all beauty products, but there are market wedges the channel dominates. An example is color cosmetics, where brows and lashes are leading the charge to attract shoppers. Bath sales are also bubbling again as drug stores wrest customers away from mall-based specialty stores, while also nabbing licensed hits that score big with parents. IRI tracked double-digit increases in the category over the past year.

WASHINGTON — According to reports, regulators are still seeking information on the proposed merger between Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid, and the subsequent divestiture of as many as 1,200 stores to Fred's.

Analysts are suggesting the implication does not bode well for the merger, as the continued Civil Information Demands from the Federal Trade Commission may be indicative that the agency is still not appeased over the merger's potential effect on the retail pharmacy market.

Walgreens is no longer at the corner of happy and healthy. It’s expanded well beyond the U.S. neighborhood and, while it’s not everywhere yet, it’s bigger than anyone else. A lot bigger. This size creates challenges for the U.S. OTC market.

WASHINGTON — Walgreens, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. jointly announced a collaborative agreement that will help improve mental health care for veterans via enhanced education, access to resources and outreach.

Walgreens, VA and VFW will work together to reach veterans in communities across the country with targeted initiatives to address mental health awareness and treatment, veteran suicide prevention and opioid overdose education.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — The clock for the Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid merger was definitively set Monday evening as the two companies announced that they have certified substantial compliance with the Federal Trade Commission's Request for Additional Information.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Walgreens is seeking to fill as many as 150 customer care advisor positions at its high-tech customer contact center in Muscle Shoals, Ala., pushing the total workforce at the Northwest Alabama facility to around 600, officials from the Alabama Department of Commerce announced last month.

Shoals officials said the customer contact center is a major employer in the region and its expansion is welcome news.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — In a 10-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, Rite Aid expressed its belief that the proposed per share merger acquisition would likely fall to $6.50 per share, suggesting the divestiture of an additional 335 stores to secure approval from the Federal Trade Commission.