Personnel Updates:

Care Pharmacies Cooperative recently named Karen Kuczynski the company’s Director of Marketing and Business Development.

Rite Aid has appointed Ken Martindale as President and COO.  John Standley will continue as chairman and CEO.

Ulta named former U.S. Cellular executive CEO.

Industry Insight:

Hometown Pharmacy has opened a location in Fitchburg, where it hopes to successfully replace a shuttered independent pharmacy.

MinuteClinic, which is owned by CVS Caremark, has opened its first two clinics in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. The clinics are located inside two CVS/pharmacy stores in Bethlehem and Macungie, and are part of MinuteClinic’s plan to open 150 clinics nationwide in 2013 in both new and existing markets.

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart announced a definitive agreement under which Loblaw will acquire Shoppers Drug Mart for C$12.4 billion in cash and stock.

Real Estate:

Kiehl’s, a 162-year-old New York-based seller of skin care products, opened its first store in Arizona. The new store opened at Scottsdale Fashion Square with a grand opening celebration on June 25.

A new Walgreens store is being developed adjacent to the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore medical campus, which will offer new health and wellness programs and services for students and staff, as well as residents of the surrounding community. The store marks a significant expansion of collaboration between Johns Hopkins Medicineand Walgreens announced in May 2011 to collaborate and explore the development of new models for improving overall patient care. The new Walgreens “Well Experience” store and pharmacy will offer health services, as well as healthy food options and a full selection of other daily living products and is the first Walgreens in-store retail clinic in Maryland.