News

Alliance Boots boosts Walgreens Q1 profit
Deerfield, Ill. – Cost synergies from its ongoing merger with U.K. drugstore chain Alliance Boots GmBH helped boost net earnings at Walgreen Co. 16% to $809 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $695 million the same quarter a year earlier. The combined synergies for Walgreens and Alliance Boots in the first quarter were approximately $140 million and remain on track to reach at least $650 million in fiscal 2015.

Sales rose 7% to $19.6 billion from $18.33 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.7%.
Tech Guest Viewpoint - How Can Retailers Reach Holiday Shoppers?
By: Sunil Oberoi, Symphony Teleca Corp. With the holiday shopping season officially in full swing, many retailers are facing the challenge of reaching consumers during this traditionally noisy time of year. And since today’s consumer is more connected than ever, they expect retailers to meet the demands of their omnichannel lifestyle, meaning they want their shopping experience to be personalized to their interests and needs.

Plug and Play, Simon host Retail CMO Summit Feb. 4-6

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Business accelerator Plug and Play Tech Center and Simon Properties are hosting an event, “Silicon Valley Retail CMO Summit 2015,” Feb. 4-6, 2015 at Plug and Play’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The event is open to chief marketing officers and other digital marketing decision-makers in the retail industry, and features expert speakers, a networking dinner, and an afternoon of themed start-up presentations.
Report - Square still working with Starbucks

San Francisco – Although the mobile payment partnership that Starbucks and Square launched in 2012 will soon be ending, Square is reportedly still actively working with Starbucks. According to the San Francisco Business Journal, Square is publicly informing its users that Starbucks is using Square technology to process payments at 7,000 stores.
Macy’s readies ‘wonderful’ post-holiday week

New York - Macy’s knows the holiday spirit doesn’t suddenly fade on Dec. 26. The retailer is offering “Week of Wonderful,” a seven-day shopping event from Sunday, Dec. 28 through Saturday, Jan. 3. During Macy’s ‘Week of Wonderful,’ customers will find a wide assortment of fresh products at affordable prices to usher in the New Year.
Study – Global retail sales to pass $22 trillion in 2014

New York - Retail sales worldwide, including both in-store and Internet purchases, will total nearly $22.5 trillion this year. According to new figures from EMarketer, the global retail market will see steady growth during the next few years, and in 2018, worldwide retail sales will increase 5.5% to reach $28.3 trillion.
Study – ‘Super Saturday’ sees high Web traffic

New York – The weekend of Dec. 20-21, which included “Super Saturday” (the last Saturday before Christmas) saw the highest daily back-to-back Internet traffic from online consumer retail shopping activity since tracking began before the Thanksgiving weekend. According to the Verizon Retail Index, average daily traffic was 119 on Saturday and 122 on Sunday.
JCP picks a president and eventual CEO

Home Depot EVP Marvin Ellison will become president of J.C. Penney on November 1 and succeed Mike Ullman as CEO of the department store retailer next August.
Jerry Shore promoted to CEO of Fred’s Super Dollar

The board of directors of Fred's Super Dollar on Thursday named Jerry Shore CEO of the company. Shore's promotion follows the board's receipt and acceptance of notification by Bruce Efird of his intention to leave the company upon the expiration of his employment contract.
Walgreens seeking new CEO

A search is underway for a new CEO at Walgreens following the resignation of president and CEO Greg Wasson as the retailer moves toward creation of a new holding company ownership structure and complete its largest ever acquisition.
Study: Marketing execs have IT purchase power

Vendors are leaving billions on the table because they forget to market to the chief marketing officer (CMO) rather than just the CIO and IT department.

According to a new study from IHL Group called “Hidden Treasure – The CMO’s Budget in Retail,” in 2015, the amount of IT purchased through the CMO’s budget will amount to $7.5 billion in North America. This figure is nearly as much as will be spent on core POS for 2015, or 12% of all North American IT spend for retail and hospitality in North America.
Walgreens' vital signs good in Q1

Walgreens said stronger sales from established stores helped it trump analyst expectations for the first quarter, even as the company's acquisition of European retailer Alliance Boots remains on track to close this month.

Walgreens reported a 16.4% lift in quarterly profit to $809 million that was credited to the 222 million prescriptions filled for the first quarter ended Nov. 30.