Personnel Updates
• Bashas’ Inc. (23) has named Barry Craft VP of Marketing, Merchandising and Procurement. He will replace Phil Hawkes, who is retiring.
• Diplomat Pharmacy (26) announced the appointment of Dan Davison to the role of CFO and Treasurer, effective April 8, succeeding Atul Kavthekar.
• e.l.f. Cosmetics, Inc. (35) announced its President and CFO, John Bailey, will step down from his role effective March 31, 2019. The responsibilities as President will be absorbed by CEO Tarang Amin and members of the executive team.
• Kinney Drugs (40) said its President Jim Spencer has died following a long illness.
• Rite Aid Corporation (74) has appointed Ben Bulkley as CEO of EnvisionRXOptions. The retailer also announced that John Standley will step down as CEO, staying on until the appointment of his successor. Bryan Everett, COO of Rite Aid Stores, has been promoted to COO of the company, succeeding Kermit Crawford who is leaving. And Matt Schroeder, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer, has been promoted to CFO, succeeding Darren Karst who will leave this spring after supporting a brief transition.
• Rite Aid Corporation (74) announced it is eliminating approximately 400 full-time jobs, which is more than 20% of the corporate positions.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (137) has named Heather Dixon Senior VP, Global Controller and Chief Accounting Officer.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Hy-Vee, Inc. announced that it has acquired Weber & Judd Company Inc., including its 10 pharmacies in Minnesota.
Industry Insight
• CVS Health is closing its 30 hearing centers, as federal regulations change that will allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter.
• Publix Super Markets Inc. has teamed up with Florida health network Flagler Health+. The partnership plans to open three Flagler Health+-branded telehealth stations inside Publix stores.
• Rite Aid Corporation and General Nutrition Centers, Inc. announced they are extending their partnership. GNC currently operates 2,200 store-within-a-store locations inside Rite Aid stores nationwide.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. is expanding the reach of its “Feel More Like You” service, which combines pharmacy, health and beauty services to help patients with cancer manage the medical and physical changes that accompany their treatment, to more than 3,000 stores.
Real Estate
• Boardroom Salon for Men has opened its first location in Arizona, at Lincoln Marketplace in Scottsdale, giving it a total of 36 locations. Boardroom plans to open an additional 11 locations this year, targeting Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and will also enter North Carolina for the first time, opening in Raleigh and Charlotte. The company hopes to grow to 92 salons in the next four years.
• e.l.f. Cosmetics, Inc. said it would close all 22 of its stores as it looks to focus on expanding its brand in national retailer and digital channels.
• Planet Fitness, Inc. announced a partnership with Kohl’s Corporation. It plans to open up to 10 Planet Fitness locations adjacent to select Kohl’s stores across the country this year, with the opportunity for additional locations in the future. Planet Fitness will lease approximately 20,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. that were previously part of the Kohl’s stores.
• Sephora USA Inc. announced that it will open 35 new locations across the United States in 2019.
• Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. plans to open about 80 new stores in fiscal 2019. In addition it will undertake some 20 remodel or relocation projects and complete approximately 270 store refreshes.
Technology News
• Sprouts Farmers Markets and Harps Food Stores Inc. have launched same-day online grocery delivery through Instacart at more of their supermarkets.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. is adding the Alipay mobile payment platform to more than 7,000 Walgreens locations nationwide.
Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 887 companies in the Drug Stores and HBC Chains Database, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.
