The new year is quickly becoming the old year. In other words, 2016 is halfway done. Depending on your point of view, 2016 has thus far been a year of little consequence or momentous happenings. Let’s take the latter view and assume that the current year has been one of serious and lasting change, especially
Only days — or weeks — may remain until Walgreens Boots Alliance’s long-delayed acquisition of Rite Aid gets the go-ahead from the Federal Trade Commission. If and when that clearance comes, Rite Aid will officially become part of WBA, and the competition between the Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy drug chains will finally take form so
Walmart just released its quarterly performance figures and, though they were only marginally improved over recent results, the consumer press glowed in its praise for the performance of the world’s largest retailer. In truth, Walmart is still struggling with attempts to lure shoppers into its stores and, once there, to entice them to purchase at
More than a month has passed since the sudden and unexpected death of Tom Coughlin, most closely remembered and admired as the onetime vice chairman of Walmart. Though a decade and a half has passed since Coughlin’s retirement, he is still much on the minds of those who knew him and worked with him. That
The first quarter of the new calendar year is history — and the mass retailing community still bubbles with more questions than answers. Few major mass retailers have dramatically altered course in response to changes in the marketplace. Many grocery retailers have continued to perform well during trying times. Target, notably, has recovered its stride
Many of the exciting new supermarkets appearing throughout the country these days are not coming from the usual sources. Rather, they’re products of retailers not normally associated with new, different, exciting or groundbreaking. Examples abound. Kroger’s newest supermarkets — like the recently opened stores in Cincinnati — are large superstores with a complete assortment of
The chain drug store community is breathlessly awaiting the completion of Walgreens Boots Alliance’s acquisition of Rite Aid, a transaction due for finalization by midyear. The anxiety has less to do with any possible restructuring of chain drug retailing in America — this transaction pales in size compared to some that have preceded it —
Walmart has begun closing stores, as the retailer had previously announced. Most of the closings involve the Express stores the company began opening over the past two years in the belief that it could more successfully compete with the likes of such small-store retailers as drug and dollar stores with convenience-oriented stores than the big
At a time of retrenchment in the U.S. retailing community, retailers in the rest of the world are expanding their horizons and aggressively reaching across continents for new growth opportunities. So it is that one of Australia’s largest grocery retailers is exporting its home center unit to the United Kingdom, where, it believes, the opportunities
The Christmas selling season is fast becoming a distant memory — which is probably for the best, given the final results. Few were the retailers that performed as strongly as anticipated. Many more turned in results that didn’t live up to initial projections or initial hype. Many factors contributed — the unseasonably warm weather, a
The reshuffling of the retail landscape is proceeding, indeed accelerating, at a pace undreamed of as recently as five years ago. This is not a reordering of companies or priorities or strategies. It is a reordering of people. Most recently, Michael Francis, the legendary retail marketer, has signed on at Walmart, as the world’s largest
George Riedl, once Walgreen’s head merchant, has signed on with Walmart to run that retailer’s health care services. Thus, 2015, from a personnel standpoint, ends as it began, with jobs and career changes once deemed unthinkable.George Riedl, once Walgreens’ head merchant, has signed on with Walmart to run that retailer’s health care services. Thus, 2015,