The established order in mass market retailing has been shaken in recent years by the emergence and increasing prominence of Amazon and other e-commerce alternatives to brick-and-mortar stores. Online merchants continue to make inroads in one category after another — everything from books, (the foundation of Amazon’s business) and home entertainment to apparel and groceries.
A powerful late-winter storm earlier this month derailed the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ ambitious plans for RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill. Snow, sleet and freezing rain in Washington, D.C., and more severe conditions northward up the East Coast prompted cancelation of the annual event, which would have brought together some 400 industry advocates,
Walmart recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year. The world’s largest retailer turned in a mixed performance, with sales gains coming at the expense of lower profits. On the plus side of the ledger, companywide revenue for fiscal 2017 rose 0.8% to $485.9 billion, and operating cash flow hit a record
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — If the operators of traditional supermarkets intend to command as prominent a position on the retailing scene of the future as they do today, they must act audaciously to fend off competition from a growing range of sources, in particular e-commerce, and stay in sync with the changing expectations of consumers. Driven
During wide-ranging remarks at the recent FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, Leslie Sarasin reiterated an important point about the nation’s supermarkets — the stores are ideally positioned to play a dominant role in meeting consumer demand for products and services that support health and wellness. The Food Marketing Institute’s president and chief executive officer talked about
CVS Health has once again exhibited the willingness to leverage its scale and diverse capabilities to support the well-being of patients. The company moved earlier this month to make a potentially lifesaving treatment for severe allergic reactions available to consumers at an affordable price. The operator of more than 9,600 retail pharmacies is offering a
A report about brand loyalty among Millennials released last month includes some surprising findings that should prompt mass market retailers and consumer products suppliers to reexamine the way they do business. Based on a survey of people between the ages of 18 and 34 conducted by research company YouGov and GT Nexus, a supply chain
Amazon is once again jolting the status quo in mass market retailing. The e-commerce pioneer, which has done more than any other company to transform consumer expectations and the way people shop, early this month took the wraps off an experimental brick-and-mortar store format with the potential to revolutionize the grocery shopping experience. Amazon Go,
For retail pharmacy operators, the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States ushers in a period of uncertainty. Health care was a focal point during the closing days of his unorthodox campaign, when he repeatedly vowed that one of his top priorities after taking office would be to repeal and
A provocative new study by KPMG, a provider of audit, tax and consulting services, asks, “Is it zero hour for consumer packaged goods companies?” The premise of the piece is that the paradigm that has governed the mass market is in the process of breaking down, and manufacturers that fail to adapt are at risk
Much of the talk in the supermarket industry revolves around the pending arrival in the United States of Lidl, a privately held company based in Neckarsulm, Germany, whose stores have had a powerful impact on markets across Europe. Now numbering more than 10,000 in 26 countries, Lidl supermarkets represent a compelling value proposition for many
The ongoing emergence of community pharmacy as a prominent player in the nation’s health care system was illustrated by a program sponsored by the Ohio Department of Aging last month. Thirty-six retail pharmacies, including outlets operated by Discount Drug Mart, Kroger, Rite Aid and Walgreens, offered free medication reviews on National Falls Prevention Awareness Day