Walgreen Co. has received the regulatory clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission needed to complete the acquisition of Duane Reade Holdings Inc. “We’re clear to move forward and complete the Duane Reade acquisition, which will immediately give Walgreens a leading position in the nation’s largest drugstore market,” said Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson. [...]
Colliers International, a global real estate services firm, issued its 2010 Retail Trends and Opportunities report showing that retail vacancies will stabilize in many markets this year, but new retail construction has virtually disappeared and lease rates have dropped 25-40% from peak levels. Challenges abound in the retail marketplace, and we’ll witness more retail failures, [...]
Drug store chain Rite Aid is now accepting EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards/food stamps provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), at its stores nationwide. More than 38 million Americans received food assistance through SNAP last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, [...]