Stew Turley recently passed away, a victim of deteriorating health and advancing age. To those who knew and worked with Turley, no explanation of the man’s impact and influence on chain drug retailing in America during the last half of the 20th century would suffice to explain the impact the news of his passing had
Costco, to no great surprise, is much in the news lately — and, no great surprise, the news is overwhelmingly positive. To begin at the beginning, Craig Jelenik, the retailer’s longtime (and very effective) chief executive officer, has retired, ending an era of unprecedented retail success. Simultaneously, Richard Galanti, the company’s equally talented chief financial
Fortune magazine just published its annual list of most admired companies. As these rosters invariably are, the newest ranking of the world’s most admired companies makes for fascinating reading. Especially significant for students of mass market retailing is those retailers included on — and those who are missing from — the newest ranking. As background,
Viewed from almost any perspective, December 13, 2023, was a significant day in the history of mass retailing in America. On that day, to informally recognize the 90th anniversary of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, America’s mass retailing community gathered together a not-so-random sampling of the individuals who created, advanced and immortalized health
Unlike most mass retailers, whose gyrations, machinations, new directions, false starts and management changes routinely make news, you seldom read or hear about Costco, the legendary “club” retailer. Indeed, the only time the Seattle-based retailer makes news is in announcing quarterly earnings reports, new clubs, new markets and the occasional management change. Among the recent
Those among us who yearn for the good old days — and there remain many who fondly recall a simpler time in chain drug retailing — must surely have a second thought or two about Rite Aid, in the wake of that venerable retailer’s fight for survival. Once upon a not-so-distant time, Rite Aid, along
If you happen to find yourself with a few idle days on your hands (How silly: Retailers seldom have a few extra days on their hands), you just might want to wander over to Des Moines, capitol of Iowa, to examine how Hy-Vee, one of the truly stunning retailers this or any country has to
Those of you who are even marginally committed to mass retailing in America (and elsewhere) would be wise to circle the date of December 13, 2023, on your calendar. On that date, a Thursday in mid-December, several industry icons (including the editors of Chain Drug Review) will gather at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York
Perhaps the most underrated and underappreciated retail trade event in America today is the exposition about to unfold in San Diego. For those of you who have been living in a fairy tale world in which all good things come eventually to those who sit and wait, the event in question is called Total Store
Make no mistake: In mass retailing, as in other fields of endeavor, this is truly the Age of the Woman. Forget the stories that name the 10, 20 or even 50 most important women in mass retailing. Women have gone far beyond that. Indeed, they have come to exert an impact on the mass retailing
Is Karen Lynch one of the world’s 100 most influential people? For the uninitiated, Lynch is the president and chief executive officer of CVS, one of the nation’s two largest drug chains and, additionally, a serious player in the health care community. Since taking on the role of CEO in 2021, she has remade CVS,
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, held at the end of April in Palm Beach, Fla., is now little more than a distant memory. The retailer and supplier attendees have returned to their daily chores, and the glow that routinely follows a successful industry meeting has begun to dissipate, crowded out by