DATATRAC

Personnel Updates

• McKesson Canada named Paula Keays as President of the company.

• National Association of Chain Drug Stores announced it has hired William Tighe as VP Federal Government Affairs and Amber Manko as Director Federal Government Affairs.

• Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. announced that Donald T. Grimes has been hired as the company’s Senior VP, CFO and COO.

• Smith Drug Company announced it has named Jeff Schneider as its VP Long-Term Care Pharmacy Solutions.

• The Kroger Co. announced that Yael Cosset will succeed Kevin Dougherty as Chief Digital Officer upon his retirement in January 2017.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Burlington Drug Co. will be joining J.M. Smith under a merger agreement.

• McKesson Corp. announced that it has signed a consent agreement allowing it to proceed with the acquisition of Rexall Health.

• Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid Corporation have entered into an agreement to sell 865 Rite Aid stores and certain assets related to store operations to Fred’s Inc.

Industry Insight

• Baptist Health’s retail pharmacy operations will open under Walgreens Boots Alliance ownership at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL beginning in early January 2017. And in May 2017, Baptist Health will assume the operations of three Walgreens Healthcare Clinics. Baptist Health will own the clinical practice and operations management of retail health clinics within three Walgreens stores in Jacksonville and northeast Florida. These existing Walgreens Healthcare Clinics are expected to transition to Baptist in May 2017, at which time the clinics will become an extension of Baptist Health. Once opened under Baptist operation, the clinics will operate under the name of Baptist Health Clinic at Walgreens.

• General Nutrition Centers, Inc. announced that all corporate stores will close on Dec. 28 and reopen on Dec. 29, after a major revamp. Changes include a single pricing structure across channels and membership levels, a new loyalty program, the launch of a new GNC mobile app and new POS terminals.

• Vitamin Shoppe Industries is continuing its international expansion efforts, announcing plans to open stores in Paraguay, Panama and Guatemala.

Real Estate

• CVS Health has announced plans to launch its first standalone CVS Pharmacy in Denver, CO in 2017. The store is expected to be 14,700 sq. ft.

• CVS Health announced it will be closing 70 stores in 2017.

• CVS Health will build a 762,000 sq. ft. distribution center at Kansas City, MO that is expected to open in 2018 and create more than 460 new jobs.

• Fred’s Inc. announced it will be closing 40 underperforming stores in the first half of 2017.

• NYX Cosmetics announced it has opened a new location at Brea Mall in Orange County, CA.

• Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. will open its first-ever outpost in Manhattan, on the city’s Upper East Side. The retailer leased a 12,000 sq. ft. space on the ground floor of 184 E. 86th St.