Content about Brand

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — As Walgreens pays tribute to its store brand via hard-hitting ads that position its health-and-wellness products as the ones that its pharmacists recommend, CVS/pharmacy officially has unveiled its new Just the Basics private-label line — both developments that should serve as warning signs to vendors.

(THE NEWS: CVS/pharmacy's Just the Basics line makes debut. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — "Try the brand of health-and-wellness products our pharmacists recommend," reads a new ad from Walgreens that hit Sunday papers this past weekend, extolling the virtues of the Walgreens store brand. This should serve as a wake-up call to the vendor community — particularly, over-the-counter manufacturers — that retailers are putting a greater emphasis on private label than ever before.

DALLAS — Toilet tissue brand Cottonelle is encouraging consumers to try something new in their bathrooms.

To promote its brand, Cottonelle announced the launch of its "Make the Ultra Switch" sweepstakes. By giving away 90 prizes in 90 days, the company hopes shoppers will seek to purchase Cottonelle's thick toilet paper, the company stated.

NEW YORK — Ansell Healthcare Products on Monday announced a relaunch of its core line of LifeStyles condoms in partnership with strategic brand consultant CBX and released a new Signature Series of premium condom products.

The new LifeStyles condoms encapsulate a brand-centric approach while establishing a consumer-driven position that better reflects a more confident and contemporary masculine style.

WASHINGTON — The Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association on Wednesday announced their support for a research study about how consumers use brand websites and how the use of these websites impacts shoppers’ in-store buying behavior.

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson has inked a deal to acquire Sara Lee's global shoe care business, which includes the iconic Kiwi brand.

SC Johnson's portfolio of household products, which hosts such brands as Pledge and Windex, now will feature the Kiwi family of brands, including Sara Lee's Bama International, which sells shoe accessories in specialty channels in Europe and Canada, and Kiwi Kleen, a line of household cleaning products sold mainly in Asia Pacific using the Kiwi branding.

The company expects to complete the acquisition by mid-2011.

ST. LOUIS — Supermarket chain Schnuck Markets has appointed a new VP marketing, the company said Thursday.

Robert Howard previously worked for such companies as Kellogg, Kraft, Chiquita Brands, Luxottica Retail, Tyson Foods and Perfetti Van Melle.

At Schnuck’s, Howard will be in charge of advertising, marketing services, consumer research, food education and private brand development. He will report to president and COO Todd Schnuck.

Drug Store News recently sat down with Scott Verner, president of Nipro Diagnostics, to discuss some of the synergies created by the acquisition of Home Diagnostics by Japan’s Nipro in March. 


Drug Store News: How is the new company better positioned in the U.S. market? What are the synergies?


DALLAS — In the first half of 2010, consumers continued to shift to less-expensive private-label products in all categories, including the personal care and baby care segments, according to a recent survey by Epsilon Targeting, a provider of consumer information for targeted marketing solutions.

NEW YORK —In an effort to drive awareness and product trials, Procter & Gamble brought to New York in late October an interactive pop-up store, highlighting such brands as Tide, Crest and Olay.

The store, which was open to the public from Oct. 22 to 31 and located at 101 West 57th St. near Sixth Avenue, was part of P&G’s multipronged “Have You Tried This Yet?” campaign.

When browsing the pop-up store, consumers found a variety of interactive stations, including but not limited to:

WOONSOCKET, R.I. —CVS Caremark has been heavily focused on the healthcare arena, leveraging its various points of care to improve medication outcomes and lower healthcare costs—but that’s not to say that the front end has fallen by the wayside. In fact, the retailer is in the midst of writing a prescription for front-end growth that involves a new store brand and new beauty innovations.