BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart’s deep and diverse leadership team is moving to transform the company into a swift-moving innovator with a unique collection of assets that place it in position to win in the future while also delivering good financial results in the short term, president and chief executive officer Doug McMillon told Wall Street
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice (DOJ) this month gave preliminary approval for CVS Health’s acquisition of Aetna Corp., which both companies say will remake health care. The remaining hurdle to the $69 billion merger was cleared last month when Aetna agreed to sell its Medicare Part D drug plan business to WellCare Health Plans.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Corp., the corporate parent of two storied firms that once ranked as the nation’s two largest retailers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. The company’s reorganization plan calls for the closure of 142 additional Sears and Kmart stores, in addition to the previously announced closure of 46
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Convenience and healthy living are the main focus of Publix Super Markets Inc.’s GreenWise Market, which opened earlier this month here, near Florida State University and Florida A&M University. “With our new-format GreenWise Market, we will offer today’s natural and specialty customer the new and interesting products they are looking for, while
MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has launched a bargain brand called Smartly, mostly featuring household products priced at $2 or less. The private label line comprises more than 70 items, including hand soap, paper plates, household cleaners and razors. Prices range from 59 cents to $11.99, but most items are under $2. “Over the past few
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. and Walgreens are piloting a joint retail concept that combines the supermarketer’s food offerings with the drug chain’s health and beauty mix. The companies are testing the format in 13 Walgreens stores in northern Kentucky, near Kroger’s Cincinnati headquarters. They will conduct the pilot over the next several months, closely monitoring
BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Digital Marketplace now offers more than 40,000 specialty products to customers nationwide, such as hard-to-find spices and condiments, specific flavors of coffee, unique health and beauty products, and other health and wellness items, Albertsons Cos. announced this month. The newly launched Albertsons.com/Marketplace site plans to offer more than 100,000 products by
WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation (NRF) has projected holiday retail sales in November and December — excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants — to increase between 4.3% and 4.8% over 2017 to $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion. The forecast compares with an average annual increase of 3.9% over the past five years. “Our forecast reflects
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Raley’s last month named Keith Knopf as chief executive officer, amplifying his role as overseer of the grocer’s strategic priorities. Knopf succeeds majority-owner Michael Teel, who is relinquishing his CEO title but remaining as board chairman. Teel will also continue to serve as consumer advocate, Raley’s said in a statement. Knopf
When J.D. Power released the results of its annual “U.S. Pharmacy Study” back in August, Good Neighbor Pharmacy ranked highest among drug chains in customer satisfaction with a score of 903, well above the 846 average in a segment whose stock-in-trade is taking care of the patient. It was the seventh time in the last
The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Sears Holdings Corp. offers another reminder, as if anyone in the industry needed one, of how fragile success in retailing can be. Sears in its prime was as disruptive as Amazon.com is today, and, in fact, it pioneered shopping from home (via catalogs and the U.S. Postal Service)