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CVS Caremark

Wal-Mart Only Retail Winner in Bleak Christmas Shopping Season

Wal-Mart is the only real retail winner during the 2008 holiday shopping season, which is presaging more retail bankruptcies in the year ahead, according to C. Britt Beemer, CEO of America’s Research Group (ARG), who issued his 2008 “Winners and Losers” list of retailers.

The “Winners and Losers” (complete list below) are determined by how well they did in retaining Christmas customers from...
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Rite Aid Q3 Loss Widens, Cuts Forecasts

Rite Aid Corporation posted its sixth straight quarterly loss and expects a bigger loss for the year than previously anticipated.

Its fiscal third-quarter (ended Nov. 29) loss totaled $243.1 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $84.8 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue decreased to $6.47 billion from $6.5 billion—a decrease of 0.5%, primarily as a result of closing 229 stores...
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Black Friday Traffic to Online-Shopping Sites Up 10%

Web traffic from home and work to the Nielsen Online Holiday eShopping Index increased 10% year over year on Black Friday, growing from 28.8 million unique visitors in 2007 to 31.7 million unique visitors in 2008, Nielsen Online reported (pdf). The index tracks more than 120 representative online retailers.

Below, additional findings released by Nielsen Online.

Category Growth

Consumer...
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Retail Pins Hopes on ‘Black Friday’ Frenzy

“Black Friday”—the day after Thanksgiving, when consumers typically start their holiday shopping—is viewed by many retailers this year as the beginning of a make-or-break period, Reuters writes.

About 10% of total holiday sales take place during the three-day weekend during which retailers offer deep discounts and promotions to attract shoppers and gain momentum heading into the important...
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CVS Draws New Customers with Flu Shots

To draw first-time customers to its stores and health clinics, CVS is strongly promoting flu vaccination services, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

In October, CVS launched a high-profile ad campaign centered on national primetime TV spots, with some radio and print. The ads put the company’s MinuteClinic outlets front and center, telling consumers to get flu shots to prepare for the cough,...
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CVS Opens New Concept Store, Announces Longs Layoffs

CVS Caremark - after reporting strong Q3 earnings and the successful completion of its takeover of Longs Drugs last week - opened its first upscale beauty store in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle.

The new concept, called Beauty 360, targets women shoppers who “will still treat themselves to little luxuries like a $15 lipstick,” despite the cutbacks that most consumers are making, even on beauty...
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CVS Caremark: 6% Rise in Q3 Profits

Strong pharmacy sales and increased demand for general merchandise lifted CVS Caremark’s Q3 income 6% vs. 3Q07, to $733 million, or $0.50 a share.

Without charges of $98.2 million, adjusted EPS would have been $0.60 a share, up 20.4% from the year-earlier period.

Overall revenue in the quarter (ended Sept. 27) was up 2% to $20.9 billion, with revenues in the retail drugstore segment up 5.3% to...
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Chapter Closed on CVS-Longs Acquisition

The $2.7 billion buyout offer that CVS Caremark extended to Longs Drugs on Aug. 12 has been deemed “successful,” as the owners of 27.7 million shares - or 76.5% of Longs stock - voted in favor of the offer, Forbes.com reports.

The deal needed two-thirds majority approval from Longs shareholders, which it got when its largest shareholder, Advisory Research, tendered its 3.3 million shares (9.2%...
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‘Captive’ Brands Rule the Shelves

“Captive” brands - those manufactured by a third-party and sold exclusively as mass market retailers like Wal-Mart, CVS, and Walgreens - are giving major labels a run for their money, writes BrandWeek.

For instance, the bioInfusion line of haircare - formulated, produced, and sold by Walgreens - has become a major competitor to Procter & Gamble’s Pantene in just three years.

Sales from private...
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Candy Sales Get Boost from Savvy Merchandising

Creative and logical merchandising techniques can help retailers realize the $10 billion growth opportunity in the confectionery category, writes Drug Store News (reg. req’d).

More than 70% of consumers make their decision on what to buy in the candy aisles and spend less than 30 seconds in the aisle, according to a spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association (NCA).

Organized candy...
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