Walgreen Co.

St. Petersburg, Fla. — On the eve of RECon 2014, The Sembler Co. is gunning its development, property management and acquisition motors. The company has more than 2.8 million sq. ft. in various stages of ground-up development. Its leasing and retention rates are at the highest levels in years. And the company’s acquisition program is active as well.

On the development side, Sembler and partner Lennar Commercial are in the predevelopment stage of an 800,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center called Town Madison in Madison, Alabama.

Duane Reade has released the first update to its app for iPhone including the integration of iBeacon for 10 select Duane Reade locations active as of May 1.

New York -- Duane Reade, a division of Walgreens, has released the first update to its app for iPhone including the integration of iBeacon for 10-select Duane Reade locations active as of May 1.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said that its same-store sales rose 7.6% in April, boosted by Easter-driven growth in front-end sales.

The company’s total sales rose 8.8% to $6.49 billion in the month of April, up from $5.96 billion in the same period of last year. Pharmacy sales accounted for 64.5% of total sales for April.

All eyes were on Texas as Chain Store Age’s SPECS conference celebrated its 50th annual show with an opening keynote by President George W. Bush. The 43rd president of the United States, who participated in a discussion moderated by Walgreens president and CEO Gregory Wasson, was given a standing ovation by attendees.

New York -- The Duane Reade drugstore chain has launched an iBeacon pilot in several stores in the New York area. The test was announced by Tim McCauley, senior director of mobile commerce at Walgreens, parent company of Duane Reade, during a presentation at the Mcommerce Summit in New York City.

“In Duane Reade, we now have iBeacon in our Duane Reade app, and we have a ten-store pilot in this market going on right now,” said McCauley

Deerfield Park, Ill. - Walgreens is launching the 2014 Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour with AARP. For six years, Walgreens and AARP have conducted the community outreach program dedicated to providing free preventive and early detection health services to communities across the country.

A new digital initiative from Walgreens allows the retailer to engage with shoppers at multiple touchpoints on the path to purchase thanks to a personalized digital coupon and analytics platform from Coupons.com called Retailer iQ.

Coupons.com announced the launch of Retailer iQ with Walgreens as the largest user of the platform with implementations underway with four other unidentified retailers. According to Coupons.com Retailer iQ fundamentally changes the promotions and checkout experience for shoppers and retailers by making them digital, mobile and personalized.