Content about Shoppers Drug Mart

The cosmetics segment has been on the upswing, and the momentum is likely to continue within the mass market as beauty mavens get increasingly thrifty and do their research when it comes to purchasing makeup.


The cosmetics segments for face (up 4%), lips (up 2.7%) and eyes (up 2%) all experienced a lift for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 4 at food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to data from SymphonyIRI Group.


Private-label penetration at CVS/pharmacy locations is expected to grow to more than 20% in the next two to three years, and to help drive that growth, the retailer has developed its new Just the Basics line of store-brand products.


Officially launched in February 2011, the brand represents a functional, value-
priced, smart-simplicity positioning. It is comprised of nearly 100 items, and there are plans to expand the line going forward.


WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The news that Shoppers Drug Mart has appointed former McKesson Canada executive Domenic Pilla as its new president and CEO not only is significant news in its own right, but also is important as Pilla will inherit a chain that is wrestling with the impact of drug reforms in several provinces and faces its share of competitive challenges.

TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart has named Domenic Pilla as its president and CEO, the company said.

Pilla, most recently president of McKesson Canada, will take the new position at the 1,190-store Canadian chain starting Nov. 1. Pilla has worked in retailing and health care for nearly 30 years, including experience in retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical distribution and sales management, specialty health networks, chronic disease management and adherence and health information technology.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy said that it is continuing to promote its "MoneyTrashers" campaign by adding new digital resources to CVS.com and the CVS/pharmacy Facebook page.

CHICAGO — Searching for the best bargains has become pastime among shoppers, according to research conducted by Mintel Inspire.

According to the latest data, Mintel found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. moms said they're spending more time looking for sales, discounts and coupons, compared with last year; while 28% of U.K. consumers were classified by Mintel as "bargain hunters" due to their dedication to comparing prices and reading online reviews.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The new Walmart Express concept is a further downsizing of Walmart’s supercenter and Neighborhood Market format, 
recently rebranded as Walmart Mart. The 15,000-sq.-ft. stores are no-frills affairs with bare concrete floors and open-rafter ceilings. From a shoppers’ perspective, the store experience is consistent with the look and feel of a supercenter — only smaller. 


COLUMBUS, Ohio — Retail same-store sales held steady with a 4.9% gain in August as retailers reported mostly solid back-to-school results at the same time sales at department stores were hurt by the impact of Hurricane Irene and weaker spending plans by shoppers, Kantar Retail reported on Thursday. However, shoppers plan on reducing their spending over the next few months, the company reported.

NEW YORK — A recent consumer survey released by AlixPartners found that a little more than half of all consumers (51%) identify a traditional grocery retailer as their point of destination when making a grocery trip. Such mass merchants as Walmart are capturing 30% of those trips, and the continued emphasis on fresh in the drug channel has drawn 5% of those trips into the mainstream pharmacy.

Dollar stores, another channel that has in the past few years made a significant push into food items, also draws 5% of all grocery trips.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Purchase frequency in the drug channel is up 6.7%. Sounds good, right? More shoppers buying more often — that's the end-game, isn't it? Except not so fast, because the real question is whether or not higher frequency of purchases actually translates into greater revenue streams. And, given the rocky road that America's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't recovery has traveled of late, more shoppers may in fact be buying more often, but they actually may be spending less. 

NORWALK, Conn. — U.K. health and beauty retailer Boots, whose branded products are available in the United States at Target, Ulta and ShopBootsUSA.com, and at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, announced that four of its No7 products have received the Good Housekeeping Seal by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.

The Boots No7 products that received the seal include:

• No7 Protect & Perfect intense beauty serum;

• No7 Intensive line filler;


It’s like stepping into a time machine and jumping ahead a decade or more.
 Housed in a historic 1930s property that once was the tallest building in the world, Duane Reade’s newest flagship store at 40 Wall St. in New York — the first co-branded Duane Reade/Walgreens store — offers a glimpse of how retailers will use technology and develop new in-store services to create a much more interactive shopping experience.