News

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs is introducing a new way for customers to donate to local schools and nonprofit organizations, the regional retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid same-store sales increased by 1.3% in September, compared with September 2010, the company said Thursday.

During the four-week period that ended Saturday, front-end same-store sales were down 0.5%, though pharmacy same-store sales increased 2.1%, including a 143-basis point negative effect from new generic introductions.

The softer sales for the month were expected by the company's management and analysts alike, with analyst John Heinbockel of Guggenheim Partners attributing them to Hurricane Irene and the slow start of the allergy season.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy announced that it has doubled its gluten-free product range, the supermarket chain announced Wednesday.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy said that it is continuing to promote its "MoneyTrashers" campaign by adding new digital resources to CVS.com and the CVS/pharmacy Facebook page.

So much for the weak economy. A record number of people, 161 million to be precise, are expected to celebrate Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federations annual survey.

NRF has been conducting the consumer intentions and actions survey for 10 years and the outlook for this year is the brightest ever with average spending per person expected to increase to $72.31 from $66.28 last year.

Former Walmart senior executive and longtime board member Jack Shewmaker is among a group of four business leaders slated for induction into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.

Wan Ling Martello may not have been a household name outside of Walmart, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of her departure from a company eager to achieve a higher degree of diversity among the ranks of its senior executives.

Normally, it is a big deal when the vice chairman of a major company announces their retirement. Especially when said executive is only 56 and in the prime of their senior leadership years. That wasn’t the case earlier this week when Walmart announced that Eduardo Castro-Wright would be stepping down as vice chairman and CEO of the company’s global e-commerce and global sourcing businesses.

Former Asda executive and Walmart Canada CEO David Cheesewright has a new role that opens up some intriguing growth possibilities, given his new responsibilities include oversight of geographic areas where Walmart doesn’t currently operate stores.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid reported a 1.3% increase in same-store sales in September.

Total drugstore sales for the 30 weeks ended September 24, 2011 increased 0.9% to $14.535 billion, from $14.407 billion in last year’s like period. Prescription sales accounted for 68.4% of total drugstore sales, and third-party prescription sales was 96.4% of pharmacy sales.