Drug Retail Weekly Notes: Walgreen, CVS Caremark & Rite Aid

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Walgreen

Drug retailer Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) has injected more value into its Prescription Savings Club loyalty program this week, by adding 300 new generics under the program to attract more customers, particularly the uninsured ones. Among other developments, Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) closed its second round of debt refinancing to ensure timely payment of its upcoming debt while CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) pulled down shutters on its prestige beauty retail stores Beauty360 and the corresponding e-commerce business to focus on the growth of its core CVS pharmacy beauty business this week.

See our complete analysis of Rite AidWalgreen CVS Caremark

The U.S.’s largest drug retailer Walgreen beefed up its Prescription Savings Club program this week by adding 300 new “value-priced” generic drugs to the existing 400 generics covered under the program to attract more customers. It now covers more than 700 generics drugs, which retail as low as $12 for a 90-day supply. It also provides 5%-20% discount on vaccines, beyond flu shots and up to 10% discount on Take Care clinics and in-house, W and Nice! branded products. The savings program is particularly aimed at attracting uninsured customers and improving medication adherence, and it also offers a risk-free guarantee. Read more here.

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This week Rite Aid closed the refinancing of its debt due in 2015 through a bond sale with extended maturities by 2020, similar to its February refinance. The recent refinancing activity and the stabilization in operating trends with consistent improvement in same store sales over the last five quarters has also led Fitch to revise its outlook for the company to stable from negative.

CVS Caremark, the second largest drug retailer after Walgreen with 7,300+ stores, is shutting down all of its prestige beauty retail stores, Beauty360, and the corresponding e-commerce business this week. It announced the decision to close down Beauty360 stores in March to focus on the growth of its core CVS pharmacy beauty business. The move is motivated by the success of its Beauty Club loyalty program and the performance of its in-house brand Nuance Salma Hayek launched last year. It intends to focus its efforts in the beauty retail sector through its 7,300 strong CVS drugstore network. Read more: CVS Shuts Beauty360 To Focus On Core Beauty Retail Business.

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