News Briefs

The Kroger Co. has officially closed a transaction to sell its specialty pharmacy business to Elevance Health.

Fulfilling an agreement first announced in March 2024, Kroger has closed a sale of its specialty pharmacy unit to CarelonRx, a unit of U.S. health insurer Elevance Health. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but it is not expected have an effect on Kroger’s full-year financial outlook and both companies said they have worked to ensure minimal disruptions for patients and associates.

[READ MORE: Kroger to sell specialty pharmacy business]

The specialty pharmacy formerly owned by Kroger, serves patients with chronic illnesses that require complex care, including rheumatoid arthritis, growth hormone deficiencies, multiple sclerosis and bleeding disorders. 

Kroger in-store retail pharmacy locations and The Little Clinics were not included in this transaction. The sale is not expected to have an impact on 2024 guidance and is not connected to Kroger’s ongoing efforts to undergo a proposed $25 billion merger with fellow grocery giant Albertsons.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC is serving as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP are serving as legal advisors to Kroger.

Based in Cincinnati, Kroger operates 2,800 stores under a variety of banners across the U.S.

Pharmacy retailer Walgreens has added a healthcare veteran to its C-suite.

The company has announced the appointment of Jason Stenta as senior VP and chief commercial officer. In this new role, Stenta will lead Walgreens’ commercial growth strategy, including the development and commercialization of B2B healthcare services and enhancing partnerships with payers, health system providers and life sciences companies. He will begin his new role in early October.

Stenta brings nearly 20 years of healthcare experience to Walgreens. Most recently, he served as senior VP of payer sales at healthcare company Optum beginning in April 2023. Previously, he spent more than three years at Change Healthcare, serving as senior VP of payer account management and then senior VP of payer sales. Prior to Optum, Stenta held leadership roles at CVS Health for 10 years.

“Jason is a strategic, relationship-driven healthcare leader, and I’m proud to welcome him to the team,” said Mary Langowski, executive VP and president of U.S. healthcare at Walgreens Boots Alliance. “His experience with complex healthcare organizations, along with his strong understanding of market dynamics, regulatory requirements, and customer needs, will be invaluable as we strengthen our relationships and solutions in healthcare.”

[READ MORE: Walgreens launches student loan 401(k) match program]

Walgreens operates nearly 9,000 retail locations across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days is around the corner, and Salesforce expects substantial online discounting to happen across retail.

For the third consecutive year, Amazon is officially kicking off its holiday promotional season with a sales event called Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday, Oct. 8 – Wednesday, Oct. 9. 

Starting Oct. 8, Amazon will offer what the e-tailer says will be some of its lowest prices of the year for members of the paid Amazon Prime membership program, and numerous other retailers are offering their own online promotion to compete with the event.

Going into the week of Monday, Oct. 7, Salesforce predicts the following online discount trends:

• U.S. discounts to reach 22%.
• Global discounts to reach 20%.
• Top discounted (expected) verticals for U.S: general apparel (26%), health & beauty (20%), home (appliances, furniture, art and décor – 19%).
• Top discounted (expected) verticals globally: general apparel (23%), luxury handbags and apparel, health & beauty (19%), home (appliances, furniture, art and décor – 18%).

"We will see a flurry of promotions next week as retailers look to capitalize on the Prime Day halo effect," Cailia Schwartz, director of consumer Insights at Salesforce, said in an email to Chain Store Age. "Retailers will see the event relieve some of the pent up consumer demand, but we don't expect it to be a needle mover for the consumers who are waiting patiently for Cyber Week discounts."

Amazon debuted its fall version of the annual Prime Day 48-hour sales extravaganza in October 2022 and the October 2023 edition of Prime Big Deal Days outperformed all Amazon sales promotions to that date except Prime Day 2023. 

[READ MORE: Amazon has second-best-ever promotion with fall Prime sales event]

Michigan-based Biggby Coffee recently hit a milestone with its franchising efforts.

The coffee chain has signed its first-ever multi-unit agreement that will bring three locations to North Carolina and South Carolina. Previously, Biggby had only ever signed single-unit deals.

The group behind the deal is Campbell Oil, parent company of 62 Minuteman Food Mart convenience centers, which the family established in 1976. Its retail arm also oversees several franchised restaurants, including 18 Little Caesars locations, four Arby’s restaurants, and soon, the three Biggby locations. Campbell Oil will target Sampson County (S.C.) and Horry County (N.C.) for the new stores.

“We’re big on relationships, and we like to partner with folks who have similar values and principles,” said Wesley Campbell, president of Campbell Oil’s retail division. “Based on meeting the team, reading more about the brand and learning about Biggby, I think we really align well with this brand. We’re also very excited about the potential to grow the brand. We feel there is a ton of opportunity in our market to do so.”

[READ MORE: Placer.ai: Coffee chains see increased traffic to start 2024]

Campbell added that the company could be looking to add new Biggby stores to its franchise commitment in the near future.

“Our current agreement is for three locations, but we see great potential to continue growing with Biggby,” he said. “Our plans are to do three to four locations per year, but we can ramp that up if needed.”

Founded in 1995, Biggby operates more than 400+ stores across Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.

A global provider of retail and hospitality research is introducing a new tool designed to improve the success rate of artificial intelligence projects.

The new solution from IHL Group, called ClearSight AI, provides a framework for businesses to objectively evaluate and prioritize AI opportunities before significant resources are invested. 

"ClearSight AI is a game-changer for companies looking to harness the power of artificial intelligence," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group. "By identifying potential pitfalls and assessing project readiness across multiple dimensions, we're empowering companies to make informed decisions and significantly increase their chances of AI success before investing."

Key features of ClearSight AI include:

• Objective ranking of opportunities: Evaluates potential AI projects based on legal compliance, data readiness, system preparedness, skills assessment, risk factors, and business value based on customizable criteria.
• Gap analysis: Identifies critical gaps in areas such as compliance, data issues, and risk while highlighting potential enablers.
• Data enabler identification: Pinpoints specific data improvements that could enable new AI use cases across the organization.
• ‘WSJF’ methodology: Utilizes weighted shortest job first (WSFJ) prioritization to identify quick wins and lower-risk projects once users have identified all gaps and enablers.
• Estimated project financial benefits: Leveraging custom IHL analysis, ClearSight AI brings an objective/outside view of the projected financial opportunity for each use case.

ClearSight AI is specifically designed for the retail and hospitality companies and includes over 400 pre-defined use cases to choose from to start.

"In today's competitive landscape, it's not just about adopting AI—it's about adopting it in a way strategically and effectively, for your specific business" said Buzek. "ClearSight AI gives businesses the clarity they need to move forward with confidence in their AI initiatives."

[READ MORE: IHL: Leading retailers have distinct IT spending plans for 2024

The Aaron's Company has gone private.

Fintech company IQVentures Holdings has completed its acquisition of the retailer of lease-to-own and purchase solutions for appliances, electronics, furniture and other home goods for $10.10 per share in cash, in a deal valued at approximately $504 million. With the completion of the deal, Aaron's common stock will cease trading as of Oct. 3 and will no longer be listed on the NYSE.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for The Aaron's Company as we continue on our journey to enhance our customers' lives through affordable lease and retail purchase options," said Douglas Lindsay, CEO of Aaron's. "By combining our expertise and resources with IQVentures', we will be better positioned to accelerate our omni-channel strategy and enhance our operational efficiency, building on the momentum of our ongoing transformation over the past several years."

Aaron's offers a direct-to-consumer lease-to-own solution through its approximately 1,210 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform. In 2022, it acquired appliance and consumer electronics retailer BrandsMart U.S.A., which has 12 stores in Florida and Georgia.