Supply Chain & Merchandising

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday a profit of $60.5 million for the quarter ended Dec. 1, compared with a year-earlier loss of $54.5 million and marking the first time since quarter-ended May 2007 that the drugstore retailer has turned a profit.
 
Rite Aid also raised its forecast for the year, abandoning earlier forecasts of a loss for the year and instead suggesting that the company may turn an annual profit.
 

CANTON, Mass. and STAMFORD, Conn. — Nestle Waters North America has signed a five-year contract making it the exclusive water supplier for Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurants nationwide.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid beat analyst expectations in third quarter 2013 as the generic wave and retention of Express Scripts customers helped drive better-than-expected adjusted EBIDTA and produced the company's first profitable quarter in five years.

"I am proud that we have achieved this significant milestone by putting our customers first and challenging ourselves to better serve them," Rite Aid president, chairman and CEO John Standley said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday morning.

Former Sam’s Club SVP and GMM Huey Long and former Target EVP of stores Troy Risch have joined forces to right the ship at RadioShack.

Warburg Pincus has acquired a majority ownership stake in Crossmark, a leading provider of sales and marketing services to retailers and suppliers.

The companies said they entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Warburg Pincus will make a majority investment of an undisclosed amount in Crossmark that allows for the management owners of the company to maintain a significant equity position and continue to actively lead the company after the transaction closes.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — Pier 1 Imports could be in for powerful home sales this holiday season as a result of its investments in its omni-channel strategy.

The company recently revamped its website as well as its mobile commerce site with help from Demandware, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions.

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe will buy a Pacific Northwest-based supplement chain, the New Jersey-based company said.

The Vitamin Shoppe said it would buy Super Supplements for $50 million. Super Supplements operates 31 stores in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and the Vitamin Shoppe said the acquisition would expand its presence in the Northwest, where it already operates 17 stores. The transaction is expected to close on Dec. 31.

COMMERCE, Calif. — 99 Cents Only Stores has revamped its website to better showcase a range of new capabilities, including bulk purchases and in-store pickup of online orders.