Chain Drug Review back issues from December 2003:
Medicare bill's passage doesn't end controversy.
Dec 15, 2003; ... WASHINGTON -- Now comes the debate after the debate. President Bush's enactment into law of a prescription drug benefit did not end contentiousness over the program's details, starting with discount drug cards next year. The cards are intended to let uninsured seniors ...
Benefit still 'a work in progress'.(Medicare prescription benefit)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- While admitting that the Medicare prescription benefit signed this month by President Bush does not give community pharmacy everything it hoped for, National Association of Chain Drug Stores officials say they are relatively pleased with the legislation. "[The bill] ...
Walgreens will reject mandatory mail plans.
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. has become the first community pharmacy chain to refuse to join prescription benefits programs that require their members to fill maintenance medications via mail order. While Walgreens says it will not join any new programs that mandate filling ...
CVS' Poughkeepsie store embodies bold new ideas.
Dec 15, 2003 ... POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- CVS Corp. has unveiled a new-concept store here, a radical departure from anything CVS--or, indeed, any United States drug chain--has yet attempted. The new store, actually a remodel of an established CVS, heavily accents health and beauty care, not only in its ...
Medicine Shoppe to acquire Medicap.
Dec 15, 2003 ... ST. LOUIS -- Medicine Shoppe International (MSI) reached a deal earlier this month to acquire 179-store Medicap Pharmacies Inc. Medicap's outlets will retain their name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MSI. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to ...
Degn, Watts given bigger roles at Wal-Mart.(Doug Degn, Claire Watts)
Dec 15, 2003 ... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced the retirement of Don Harris as executive vice president of general merchandise for the Wal-Mart Stores division. The 46-year-old Harris, who is retiring after a 23-year career with Wal-Mart, will stay on with the company ...
Houston a chain drug hotbed.
Dec 15, 2003; ... Top executives from the nation's chain pharmacies frequently visit stores in markets of interest to see firsthand what direct or indirect competitors may be doing that is new or different. A statistical metropolitan service area (SMSA) that has become a must-see is Houston. The ...
Katz, Edmonton Oilers sign promotional deal.
Dec 15, 2003 ... EDMONTON, Alberta -- Katz Group Inc. has inked a 10-year sponsorship and marketing agreement with the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club under which the retailer will own the naming rights to the team's home arena and serve as its exclusive health care partner. The centerpiece of the ...
Three retailers beef up digital photo capabilities.(CVS Corp., Walgreen Co., Bartell Drug Co.)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- A number of chain drug retailers have announced a flurry of innovative digital photo services. For example, CVS Corp. is poised to introduce mobile image printing capabilities at Kodak Picture Maker kiosks at its stores nationwide. The service will make ...
Bidders line up for shot at Eckerd.(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- Buyout firm Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) is reportedly backing CVS Corp. in a possible multibillion-dollar bid for Eckerd Corp. Eckerd's 2,700 drug stores, which have also attracted interest from the Jean Coutu Group Inc., are expected to sell for between ...
Walgreens to refuse Medi-Cal scripts if cuts take effect.
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. says it will stop filling prescriptions for Medicare recipients in California if the state goes ahead with its planned 5% cut in the program's reimbursement rate next month. "These are difficult decisions," notes Walgreens chairman and chief ...
Another exclusive line bows at CVS.(XCD skin care products for men)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- A new line of premium skin care products for men is being offered on an exclusive basis in the United States by CVS Corp. for a two-year period. Called XCD, the line was developed by King of Shaves, the No. 2 shave brand in the United Kingdom, and consists of five ...
NACDS raises $1.7 million for charity.(National Association of Chain Drug Stores)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- The National Association of Chain Drug Stores' fifth annual NACDS Charitable Foundation dinner earlier this month raised more than $1.7 million for numerous charitable, educational and research programs. Held at the New York Sheraton Towers hotel, the event was a ...
W.F. Young targets back pain.(Supplier News)(Absorbine Jr. Back Patch launched)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. -- W.F. Young Inc. has launched the Absorbine Jr. Back Patch, developed to target chronic back pain with deep, penetrating heat. The blend of menthol, camphor and eucalyptus oil goes straight to the point of pain to relieve back spasms and deep-seated ...
Markwins rejuvenates Wet 'n' Wild.(Supplier News)(Markwins International Corp.)
Dec 15, 2003 ... CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. -- In the past 10 years Markwins International Corp. has gone from $30 million in sales to about $300 million, and the company plans to accelerate that growth in 2004. After acquiring Wet 'n' Wild and other popular AM Cosmetics brands earlier this year, ...
New Dana fragrances being sold.(Supplier News)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... COCONUT CREEK, Fla. -- New Dana Perfumes Corp. (NDP) chief operating officer Anthony Wesley has signed a letter of intent, committing the the company to sell its fragrance brands to Dana Classic Fragrances Inc., which is principally owned by Isaac Cohen, the chief executive officer of NDP ....
Woodridge unveils lice removal kit.(Supplier News)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... VAN NUYS, Calif. -- Woodridge Labs Inc., a manufacturer of a broad line of over-the-counter health and beauty aids, has launched an educational program to introduce its SafeTek Lice Removal Kit, which is designed to eliminate lice and their eggs (nits) without the use of pesticides. ...
Correction.(Supplier News)(Correction Notice)
Dec 15, 2003 ... A story on SinoFresh Nasal & Sinus Care that appeared in the November 10 issue of Chain Drug Review misstated the budget for the product's national marketing ...
Lavoris brand gets new owner.(Supplier News)(CFCP Lavoris L.L.C. acquires Lavoris from Schwarzkopf and Dep)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... LOS ANGELES -- CFCP Lavoris LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Charles Flora Consumer Products LLC, has announced the acquisition of Lavoris mouthwash from Schwarzkopf & Dep, a division of Henkel Corp. Lavoris has been in the marketplace for a century and was the first mouthwash ...
Revlon readies cosmetics for spring.(Supplier News)('Pink Happiness' line)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- Revlon Inc. is poised to launch "Pink Happiness," its color cosmetics collection for spring 2004. The line features a range of soft pinks accented with celadon green, aquamarine blue and oyster silver. "The face is covered with soft hues for a glowing, ...
Natrol emphasizes consumer education.(Supplier News)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... CHATSWORTH, Calif. -- Natrol Inc. has enhanced its strategic communications program, in a bid to build consumer knowledge about nutritional products and how they contribute to good health. The company will increase its role as an information resource for consumers as well as for ...
Income at McKesson increases 22%.(Business)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN FRANCISCO -- McKesson Corp. posted a 21.9% rise in income from continuing operations in the second quarter of fiscal 2004 as revenues climbed 22.8%. Net income from ongoing lines totaled $156.5 million, up from $128.4 million a year ago. Bottom-line results in the fiscal ...
Longs earnings rise 75% in third quarter.(Business)
Dec 15, 2003 ... WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Aided by the southern California supermarket strike and cost-cutting measures, as well as easy comparisons against a weak prior-year performance, net income soared nearly 75% at Longs Drug Stores during the third quarter of fiscal 2004. The regional drug ...
Chain drug stocks reach highest level since March '02.(Business)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- Chain drug store stocks zoomed upward in November as optimism spread that the industry will be positively affected by the Medicare reform bill recently passed by Congress. There is consensus that Medicare prescription drug coverage for senior citizens will mean ...
What kind of year has it been for drug chains?(My Turn)(year in review)(Column)
Dec 15, 2003; ... As 2003 winds down, all too quickly, the inevitable question pops up: What kind of year has it been? It's been a year like any other, one of change, both predictable and unimagined. Here's a recap: This year has seen the growing strength of CVS, the completion of Rite Aid's recovery and ...
Pharmacies need to keep pace with biotech.
Dec 15, 2003; ... Biotechnology products have begun to revolutionize health care, and community pharmacy operators should be prepared to quickly adapt their business models if they want to remain front-line providers of therapies that help address a host of serious chronic conditions--everything from ...
'Quality management at every level'.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. chairman and chief executive officer Dave Bernauer doesn't mince words when assessing the reasons for the company's continued dominance in the chain drug industry. "We have a motivated, very seasoned team," he said at the retailer's annual ...
There has never been a better time to grow.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- It took Walgreen Co. 83 years to open its 1,000th drug store. The 2,000th debuted just a decade later, in 1994. In only another half dozen years the chain had 3,000 outlets, and barely four years after that Walgreens had 4,000 units. The debut of ...
Battle is won in the stores.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- The hearts and minds of consumers are won in stores one by one. In many respects the critical field commanders in that battle are store managers. Nowhere is that truer than at Walgreen Co. While the drug chain's store managers are united behind the common ...
The new customer service initiative.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. may be performing at the highest level, but Jeff Rein, who became president and chief operating officer of the retailer last January, is not taking anything for granted. In his view, Walgreens' position as America's No. 1 drug chain is analogous to that of a ...
Pharmacists are link to patients.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Nowhere is the interaction between Walgreens employees and consumers more critical than in the pharmacy department. With prescription drugs playing an increasingly important role in health care and the demand for such products continuing to rise rapidly, ...
A vibrant market in midst of expansion.(Austin)
Dec 15, 2003 ... AUSTIN, Texas -- This city on the banks of the Colorado River is one of the most dynamic markets in the United States. While Austin is the state capital and home to the University of Texas, it is also a major center for high- technology firms. In addition, the city is a thriving ...
Monica Rich, manager, 9307 N. Lamar Blvd.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... AUSTIN, Texas -- The sheer variety of the work was one of the things that attracted Monica Rich to a career in retailing. "I didn't want a desk job where I would be sitting there doing the same thing every day," she says. "In retailing we're always doing something ...
Alma Alvarado, manager, Research Blvd.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... AUSTIN, Texas--After a stint in the military, Alma Alvarado put herself through college and studied accounting. She got a job in that field after she graduated, and quickly found she liked it less than the retail jobs she held while in school. "Retailing was just much more ...
A store with special requirements.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... AUSTIN, Texas--The Walgreens store Alma Alvarado manages has a unique customer base. Located in the northwestern outskirts of the city, the outlet is perched on a busy intersection, next to a car lot and across the street from a group of restaurants. Employees from the car lot ...
Store managers have pharmacy know-how.(Walgreens)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... AUSTIN, Texas--Recognizing that pharmacy is the critical component of the chain drug store business, Walgreens has asked its store managers to become certified as pharmacy technicians. "The Austin market was actually one of the first to have all its store managers certified," ...
The Windy City is a perfect home base.(Chicago)
Dec 15, 2003 ... CHICAGO -- Founded here 103 years years ago, Walgreen Co. could hardly have picked a better market in which to be based. Chicago is the third-largest metropolitan area in the United States with 8.5 million people, ranking behind only Los Angeles and New York. In terms ...
Peggy Leonard, mgr., Grand Ave., Gurnee.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... GURNEE, Ill. -- Making a drug store operate efficiently is a balancing act, and the 10,000-square-foot, six-year-old Walgreens store at the corner of Grand Avenue and Almond Road in this northern Chicago suburb in Lake County is no exception. Balancing pharmacy and front-end, ...
'It was fun to be part of a Chicago tradition'.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... GURNEE, Ill. -- Walgreens' famous lunch counters, once one of the chain's signature touches in Chicago, are long gone. But in the late 1960s they were still thriving, and that's where Peggy Leonard, then in high school, got her first job with the chain. "It was fun ...
Tom Gilliland, mgr., Libertyville.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. -- If there is a theme that runs through the Walgreens store in this northern Chicago suburb, it is experience, and it starts with the store's manager, Tom Gilliland. The 52-year-old Gilliland has spent his entire professional life in retail, beginning with a ...
'It's in you; you like it or you don't'.(Walgreens)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. -- According to Tom Gilliland, store manager for Walgreens' Libertyville store, retailers are born, not made. "Retail is in you," he says. "You either like it or you don't." Having been in the business nearly three decades, he should know. And make ...
Custom tailoring every location.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. -- Walgreens' stores in Libertyville and Gurnee, Ill., are both in suburban Lake County, north of Chicago, and they share, among many other things, a similar layout, automatic reordering system and pricing structure. Even though the two stores are only about ...
'We want someone who can do a quality job'.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... GURNEE, Ill.--For Peggy Leonard, manager of a Walgreens' store here, it is all about people--associates and customers. Asked what she considers her primary job responsibility to be, Leonard immediately answers, "motivating people in a positive way." Asked about her ...
A market with room for Walgreens to grow.(Columbus)
Dec 15, 2003 ... COLUMBUS, Ohio--Since entering this market in the late 1990s Walgreen Co. has made its presence felt. After slowly building its store count in greater Columbus up to 15 the drug chain is now opening seven or eight a year here on its way to having upwards of 50 in the market. ...
Ian Liu, manager, Columbus Ave., Columbus.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... COLUMBUS, Ohio--Ian Liu's chain drug retailing career started inauspiciously. His car was stolen when he stopped for gas on the way to his first day on the job as a pharmacist. It's been all uphill since. Today the irrepressible Liu can look back on that car theft in ...
Someone opened up 'the big picture' for him.(Wallgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... COLUMBUS, Ohio--As much as Ian Liu has advanced himself at Walgreens by dint of his own desire and ambition, he says he would hardly have gotten anywhere without the sage advice and backing of his superiors. There is Bob Kral, for example, Liu's district manager in Las Vegas ...
Walgreens figures big in Norfolk renaissance.(Norfolk)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NORFOLK, Va. -- This city encompasses over 100 diverse neighborhoods. It is the business and cultural center of the Hampton Roads area, hosts the region's international airport and is one of the busiest global ports on the East Coast of the United States. Norfolk is undergoing a ...
Extra effort promotes community health.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NORFOLK, Va. -- Shoppers at Walgreens stores here can pick up the retailer's informative Diabetes & You seasonal periodical right at the pharmacy counter. Each issue is chock full of useful information for those with diabetes, featuring articles on understanding their ...
Keith Jacobsen, mgr., Norfolk.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NORFOLK, Va. -- When Charles R. Walgreen Sr. founded the company that bears his family's name in 1901 he insisted that customers be treated "like a guest in your home." Over a century later store manager Keith Jacobsen has not only taken that advice to heart, he lives it on a ...
Negative becomes positive.(Walgreens)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NORFOLK, Va. -- When store manager Keith Jacobsen opened a Walgreens outlet here in 2001 a week ahead of schedule he was proud of the fact--until one of his new customers quickly read him the riot act. "Our initial ad had come out, and one of the items in it wasn't available on ...
Michele Jackson, manager, N. Military Hwy., Norfolk.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... NORFOLK, Va. -- When the Walgreens outlet at 1169 Military Highway here opened only a few months ago store manager Michele Jackson didn't waste any time getting things up and running and making shoppers feel welcome. "People are just discovering us, but the fact that there is no ...
Fertile ground for expansion.(San Antonio)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- Once known primarily for its colorful history and importance as a military complex, San Antonio has developed into one of the major metropolitan centers in the United States. The steady growth it has experienced over the past decade is expected to continue apace in the next ...
The battle is Walgreens vs. Wal-Mart, H.E.B.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- The city of the Alamo is a vibrant market that features some of the most formidable chains in mass market retailing. Its solid growth prospects ensure that it will see intensifying competition in the years ahead. Walgreens goes head to head here with two retailers ...
Erv Gonzales, mgr., San Antonio.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- Store manager Erv Gonzales did his homework before coming to Walgreens. After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio Gonzales took a retail management position with another company, which soon began struggling financially and cutting back. ...
It's 'his' store from the start.(Walgreens)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- It is not surprising that Err Gonzales truly thinks of the Walgreens outlet he manages as "his store." He was there when the outlet opened five years ago and has managed it ever since. "That was a fun project," says Gonzales. "I got to start from scratch here, ...
Miguel Ordonez, store manager, San Antonio.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- Working at Walgreens is a family affair for Miguel Ordonez. He joined the drug chain nearly six years ago at the suggestion of his wife, who worked for the company then and still does today. At one point Ordonez' daughter had a job at Walgreens as well. ...
He practices what he preaches.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... SAN ANTONIO -- Miguel Ordonez believes that the best way to run a store is to make sure all of his employees know how important they are to the business. "My style of management is to let everyone know that I couldn't run the store by myself," he says. "We're all equal, because ...
Walgreens at the top of its game.(Tulsa)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- Located in what is almost the geographical center of the continental United States, the Tulsa market embodies everything that American retailing has become over the past 50 years. Supercenters, discount stores and drug stores, along with fast-food restaurants and ...
Kristen Reber, manager, E. 31st St., Tulsa.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- As a girl growing up in rural Missouri right through her college years, Kristen Reber wanted to be a teacher. As a history major at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo., she even earned a certificate to teach high school classes. But, like ...
What drug chains can do best.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- Situated only about 90 miles west of Bentonville, Ark., this city of 393,000 people in northwestern Oklahoma is the closest urban area to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s headquarters. That proximity made Tulsa and its surrounding suburbs a natural choice for one of the ...
Jason Haynes, mgr., N. Peoria Ave., Tulsa.(Walgreens)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- When he was a freshman at the University of Tulsa, Jason Haynes' friend told him about a part-time job opening on the night shift at a nearby Walgreens store. Having previously talked to a Walgreens recruiter who had visited the school, Haynes was familiar with ...
Taking a chance on a neighborhood.(Walgreens)(Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- In a corner of this city where once-thriving businesses have been boarded up for years and many of those that remain are hanging on by a thread, Walgreens opened a shining new 15,000-square-foot pharmacy a few years ago. While some would question the wisdom of ...
A Walgreens store manager who doubles as a teacher.(Walgreens)(Jason Haynes)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- Walgreens store manager Jason Haynes always wanted to be a teacher. He holds a degree in elementary education from the University of Tulsa and has the caring nature and patience to pass along his knowledge to others. In short, he is concerned about ...
'On Christmas Eve, this is the busiest store in town'.(Walgreens)(Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- The Walgreens store at 11332 E. 31st St. on the east side of Oklahoma's second-largest city was one of the first outlets the company opened here. Unveiled in 1993, the unit was part of a mass opening in Tulsa that saw Walgreens debut six stores in one day. Since ...
'Every day's something totally new'.(Walgreens)(Kristen Reber)(Brief Article)
Dec 15, 2003 ... TULSA, Okla. -- Although Kristen Reber's original goal of becoming a teacher took a detour when she joined Walgreens' management training program, she has still been able to find a way to pass along her knowledge to others. "We're a training store," notes Reber, who has managed ...