WASHINGTON — States can collect sales tax from online sellers even if those companies don’t have a physical presence in the state, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a case with far-reaching implications for online commerce. “The physical presence rule has long been criticized as giving out-of-state sellers an advantage,” the court said in
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. posted a $2 billion profit in its first quarter, largely on a windfall from the sale of its convenience stores. On the operations side of the business, online sales jumped 66% as overall sales rose 3.4% to $37.5 billion. Comparable-store sales increased 1.4% in the period ended May 26. Kroger raised
AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Sundial Brands has named Kimberly Evans Paige to the newly-created position of chief operating and brand-building officer. She will report to founder, chief executive officer and executive chairman Richelieu Dennis. She will work with Dennis and the executive team on the company’s strategic direction and will help develop a plan for continued growth,
CINCINNATI — Answering Amazon.com’s encroachment on the retail food business, Kroger Co. has inked a deal with online British supermarket Ocado to accelerate the American grocer’s e-commerce offering. The alliance will mark the U.S. debut of the technology underpinnings of the Ocado Smart Platform, which includes online ordering, automated fulfillment and home delivery capabilities. As
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Industry veteran Tom Duffy has been named vice president of member development at the Global Market Development Center (GMDC). He will focus primarily on expanding the association’s reach within the retail and consumer product industry in order to create the best global network of those in the health, beauty, wellness and general
WAYNE, Pa. – The Emerson Group has executed an agreement to merge the operations of McCaughey Consumer Products (MCP) allowing the combined operations to offer a North American Retail Solution to manufactures in the Health & Wellness space. Emerson Canada will provide manufacturers with a turnkey sales, logistics and marketing solution for brands distributed across
NEW YORK — CVS Health reportedly has named former Eli Lilly and Co. chief financial officer Derica Rice to lead its CVS Caremark pharmacy benefit management unit. Plans call for Rice to take the helm at CVS Caremark on March 30, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal CVS memo. CVS Health
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Shareholders of CVS Health voted overwhelmingly to approve the company’s $69 billion deal to acquire health insurer Aetna Inc. CVS said that in a special stockholders meeting on Tuesday, more than 98% of shares were voted in favor of the CVS-Aetna merger agreement, which was announced in early December. Also at a
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. — Continuing cross-segment consolidation in the health care arena, health insurer Cigna Corp. plans to acquire pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts in a $67 billion cash and stock deal. The companies said Thursday that, under the Cigna-Express Scripts merger agreement, Cigna will pay Express Scripts shareholders $48.75 in cash and 0.2434 shares of stock
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — George Riedl, senior vice president at Walmart and president of the Walmart Health and Wellness division, is leaving the company. A Walmart spokeswoman said Wednesday that Riedl, a key pharmacy executive at the retail giant, is slated to depart on March 16. The company didn’t say if a successor had been named. A
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. is winding down its asset sale to Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) with the ownership transfer of 537 more stores. Rite Aid said Tuesday that as of March 2, it has transferred 1,651 stores and related assets to WBA for cash proceeds of $3.6 billion. The process has progressed
BRAMPTON, Ontario —Loblaw Cos. reported that its overall retail sales for the fourth quarter fell 1.2% to $10.72 billion (all figures Canadian), down from $10.85 billion a year earlier. Excluding the consolidation of franchises, retail sales were down 2% year over year, the company said. Food retail sales came in at $7.55 billion in the quarter ended