November 27, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
FMI, Jeffrey Woldt, Leslie Sarasin, opinion
Issue 11-27-2023
Leslie Sarasin takes an expansive view of her work. As president and chief executive officer of FMI – The Food Industry Association, she has significantly broadened the organization’s reach, carving out a bigger role within FMI for grocery manufacturers and other industry stakeholders, while at the same time forging partnerships with groups that support its
October 9, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, Sam's Club
Issue 10-09-2023, Opinion

Sam’s Club has changed considerably in 40 years. As the special section elsewhere in this issue amply illustrates, the retailer, a division of Walmart, has found numerous ways to enhance the membership warehouse club format, while adhering to the fundamentals of the concept. When Sam’s made its debut In 1983, the bare-bones clubs sold a
September 11, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, PBM
Issue 09-11-2023, Issues
Value-based care is coming to the PBM sector. Blue Shield of California last month launched a program that eschews the entrenched pharmacy benefits management model, replacing it with a consortium of companies — which includes Amazon Pharmacy and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. — assembled to change the way prescription drugs are purchased and
August 7, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, patients, Rx
2023, Issue 08-07-2023, Issues, Opinion

The nation’s community pharmacy operators are once again being asked to help support the rollout of government programs designed to improve the health of Americans and ease the financial burden of care. Last month, the Biden administration convened a roundtable with industry leaders at the White House to discuss what retail pharmacy can do to
July 10, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
CVS, Innovation, Jeffrey Woldt, Target
07-10-2023, 2023, Issues
After being frozen in place since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the wheels of innovation are turning once again. Concerns about the supply chain and the need to keep products in stock have subsided to the point where leaders of drug, discount and grocery chains and their counterparts in the vendor community are shifting
June 19, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Doug McMillon, Jeffrey Woldt, Walmart
2023, Issue 06-19-2023, Issues
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Walmart that Doug McMillon presides over is a different place than it was when he became chief executive officer nine years ago. At the time, some industry observers viewed the company as too vast and deeply rooted in brick-and-mortar retailing to compete effectively in the age of e-commerce. With McMillon’s prodding,
June 19, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, sustainability, Walmart
2023, Issue 06-19-2023, Issues
In the last issue of MMR, this space was devoted to the clear and present danger of climate change, and the responsibility that retailers have for doing everything they can to help alleviate the crisis. Walmart is one of the companies that has risen to the challenge, continually finding new ways to make its operations
May 22, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, NACDS
2023, Issue 05-22-2023, Issues
PALM BEACH, Fla. — During its 90th anniversary year, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores has its sights set firmly on the future. At the NACDS Annual Meeting here last month, industry leaders expressed their determination to build on the association’s long record of achievement as they work to help shape the evolution of
May 22, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
climate change, Jeffrey Woldt, Peter Frankopan, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History
2023, Issue 05-22-2023, Issues, Opinion

In his new book, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History, Peter Frankopan examines the consequences of interaction between humans and the natural world over the course of millennia. He shows how the trajectory of history has been influenced by such environmental factors as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and volcanic eruptions. Climate change played an
April 17, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Jeffrey Woldt, St. Joseph’s University’s Future Food Industry Leaders 2023
2023, Issue 04-17-2023, Issues
St. Joseph’s University’s Future Food Industry Leaders 2023, held last month in Lafayette Hill, Pa., afforded retailers, CPG companies and grocery wholesalers an opportunity to do well by doing good. Developed by the school’s Academy of Food Marketing, and its executive director Joe Bivona and director of events Alison Nolan, the annual event provided rising
March 27, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Andre Persaud, Jeffrey Woldt, Rite Aid
2023, Issue 03-27-2023, Issues
As it has on multiple occasions over the last quarter of a century, Rite Aid finds itself beset with uncertainty. The abrupt departure of chief retail officer Andre Persaud earlier this month, coming as it did on the heels of the company’s parting of ways with president and chief executive officer Heyward Donigan at the
February 27, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
Hy-Vee, Jeffrey Woldt, Randy Edeker
2023, Issue 02-27-2023, Issues
ORLANDO, Fla. — After spending several months fine-tuning its corporate structure and management team, Hy-Vee Inc., which operates more than 285 stores in eight Midwestern states, faces the future with confidence as it embarks on the final two years of the Randy Edeker era. Known first and foremost for its eponymous food/drug combination stores, Hy-Vee