Rite Aid Corp. plans to add discount Save-A-Lot groceries to 10 of its stores in and around Greenville, S.C., as it tests out a partnership with Supervalu Inc., the Associated Press reported. The stores are set to be remodeled by October, and renamed Save-A-Lot Food Stores/Rite Aid Pharmacy. Rite Aid will own and operate the…
Brands, Packaging Benefit HBC
With healthcare capturing so many headlines these days, the health and beauty category (HBC) has taken on added importance in the c-store set. Fueling much of the growth: smaller package sizes that save shoppers money and stimulate impulse sales. Medford, Ore.-based Minute Market has jumpstarted its HBC sales by mixing in smaller-sized packaging, according to…
Value is Key to HBC
In the HBC category, miscellaneous health remedies brought in $74,935,760 in dollar sales, a 4% decline from the previous year according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI) data for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 27, 2009. Meanwhile the cold allergy and sinus liquids and tablets were down 11.6% for the same period. “We’re seeing increases in…
CVS/pharmacy Enters St. Louis Market
CVS/pharmacy has entered the St. Louis market, opening four stores in the past week-two in St. Louis, one in Olivette and one in Ellisville. The chain will open a fifth location in Ballwin in the fall. In total, the five stores will bring about 125 new jobs to the St. Louis community this year. “We…
Lil’ Drug Store Products Celebrates 35 Years
Lil’ Drug Store Products Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a pioneer in the non-prescription sample drug market that has changed health and beauty care in the convenience, grocery, drug and mass market retailing sectors. What began in 1974 as a four-item product line available in Iowa, now serves customers,…
Generex Targets C-Stores
Generex Biotechnology Corp., a leader in drug delivery for metabolic diseases through the inner lining of the mouth, has announced the expansion of its confectionary products’ availability throughout North America with the following products aimed at boosting impulse sales. New prodcuts include: * BaBOOM! Energy Spray, which offers consumers a convenient boost of…
Products, Packaging Key to HBC
Private Label Predicament Private label categories are increasing across all product categories, including HBC. While consumers still want the brands they know and trust, in today’s economy many are looking for a more optimally priced equivalent. In the first aid category, private label sales are up 10% compared to last year, according to Nielsen for…
Driving HBC Sales
Convenience store operators preparing to expand their health and beauty care (HBC) category in time for the summer months may be facing some challenges. With the moribund economy depressing impulse sales across retail, this may be a bad summer for new products, while tried-and-true brands of medicines, sunscreen, sunglasses and other warm-weather favorites remain strong.…
Two-Ounce Energy Shots
TOP PERFORMERS Living Essential 5-Hour Energy NVE Stacker Upshot (Drinks That Work) HONORABLE MENTIONS BDI Mini Thin Rush NRG Make room for the new kid on the block: Energy shots, those concentrated versions of energy drinks that are beginning to mirror the high sales figures of their parent product. Energy shots have as big a…
CVS Plans High-end Beauty Stores
CVS Caremark Corp will begin testing a high-end beauty store concept this year as it looks to tap into the growing demand for skin care and cosmetics, Reuters reported. The drug store chain is planning a store concept called "Beauty 360,” which will be rolled out near an existing CVS store on the East Coast,…