MEMPHIS — During its recent earnings call, Fred’s Inc. announced it was “actively pursuing a sale” of its specialty pharmacy business, as it reported financial results for the 2017 fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 3. A few days after the call, the company reported that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has promoted Kevin Hourican to president of CVS Pharmacy — CVS Health’s retail division, the company announced last month. Hourican, who most recently held the position of executive vice president of retail pharmacy, had been serving as interim president of the drug chain following the departure of Helena Foulkes, who
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Change, both confronting it and creating it, emerged as a powerful theme of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, which was held here last month. The theme of change was clearly on display in the remarks made during the Business Programs by NACDS chairman of the board Alex
BOISE, Idaho — WinCo Foods has promoted Grant Haag to company president. Haag, who most recently was the company’s senior vice president of department operations, is also set to become chief executive officer after one year, when current CEO Steven Goddard officially steps down. The company said the succession plan was the result of a
LAS VEGAS — To stay relevant in today’s competitive market, retailers must truly know their customers and speak to them in way that is not only personalized but also truly personal, Stuart Aiken, Kroger Co. group vice president and chief executive officer of 84.51°, told attendees last month at IRI’s Growth Summit 2018 at the
Amazon.com late last month reported extraordinarily robust financial results for the quarter ended March 31. Sales at the e-commerce and technology company jumped 43% to $51 billion, while net earnings more than doubled to $1.6 billion. With ad revenue and Amazon Web Services showing notable strength, the company generated gains across the board. Of particular
Many companies today embrace some form of continuous improvement process, under which they strive to make their products, services and systems better over time. The CIP concept seems very professional and corporate, but former Dollar General Corp. chief executive officer Cal Turner Jr. had a blunter version of the same idea. “Would you like to
ZAANDAM, Netherlands — Dick Boer, chief executive officer of Ahold Delhaize, will retire July 1. He will be succeeded by Frans Muller, who currently is deputy CEO and chief integration officer. Together, the two executives were co-architects of the merger of the two international grocers in 2016. “We thank Dick for his leadership and dedication
NEW YORK — Walmart and Humana are discussing ways to forge a closer health care partnership, including a possible acquisition of the health insurer. The potential deal, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes on the heels of other brewing mega-mergers, including CVS Health’s planned acquisition of Aetna Inc., as well as
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. said this month that it plans to hire 11,000 employees to fill jobs across its supermarket divisions, including nearly 2,000 management positions. The job growth figures do not include jobs created as a result of capital investment, such as temporary construction jobs, or increases due to the company’s mergers, according to
SEATTLE — President Trump’s use of Twitter to renew complaints about Amazon.com and founder Jeff Bezos dominated conversations in both Washingtons earlier this spring, with consumers, retailers and investors wondering how — and whether — the White House might try to punish the company for alleged misdeeds. “I have stated my concerns with Amazon long
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Grocers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on March 27 to implement a pre-packaged reorganization plan. Earlier in the month, the company announced that it had reached agreement with 80% of its creditors and its private equity sponsor on a prepackaged restructuring that would permit it to operate 582 Winn-Dixie,