News

Rite Aid reported $2 billion in sales for the four weeks ended Sept. 27, representing a 4.5% increase over the comparable year-ago period.
 
Same-store sales increased 5.1% over the prior-year period, including a 2.3% lift in front-end same-store sales and growth of 6.3% in pharmacy comparable sales. Pharmacy same-store sales included an approximate 225 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 4.4% over the prior-year period.
 

As part of PepsiCo’s efforts to help drive the U.S. beverage container recycling rate to 50% by 2018, the company is now opening its K-12 school Recycle Rally program to schools across the country.

Walmart this week launched a new “click and collect” grocery concept in Bentonville, Ark. Hometown media outlet City Wire was on hand for the grand opening and evaluated the service by ordering a few items. Click here to read the report.
 

 

Walgreens has partnered with WebMD Health for an initiative to help improve health and wellness in America by helping and incenting consumers to make healthier choices at home, work and on-the-go.
 

As part of its agenda to boost liquidity ahead of the highly contested holiday shopping season, Sears Holdings plans to sell most of its 51% stake in its struggling Sears Canada division to shareholders — a move that stands to raise as much as $380 million by November.

As the holiday begins to creep closer, GameStop is looking to generate store traffic by unveiling a series of new loyalty incentives during October for PowerUp Rewards program members. The specialty retailer is also offering special financing for new PowerUp Rewards credit cardholders.

In addition to accruing points for purchases and early access to exclusives, PowerUp Rewards Pro shoppers will be able to maximize their loyalty earnings during the month of October, the company said.

Christopher & Banks is preparing to roll out its new missy-petite-women (MPW) store concept at 37 stores, after successfully testing the retail strategy at 20 locations across the US last year. The retailer plans to convert a total of 190 stores by the end of this year.

Home Depot is extending its e-commerce capabilities westward with the opening of a dedicated online fulfillment center in California.

Located in Perris, California, the 858,953-sq.-ft. facility will initially employ approximately 150 people, and eventually employ up to 300. It is one of three new DFCs opening across the US in addition to the company’s existing network.

The Locust Grove DFC opened outside of Atlanta, Georgia in February and the Ohio DFC is scheduled to open next year.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Shoppers are planning to spend less money and purchase gifts for fewer people this holiday season compared to last year, while also maximizing their budgets through Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and online cost comparison, according to the CFI Group 2014 Holiday Retail Spending Report: Black Friday is Back.  

New York -- Twitter is giving over every message ever tweeted to the data scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s famed Media Lab. The social media giant is also giving $10 million (over five years) to fund the new Laboratory for Social Machines (LSM), which will be based at the Media Lab.