Mass Market Retailers articles from January 2005

Mass Market Retailers archives from January 2005

Big W discounts.(NEWS/INTERNATIONAL RETAILER OF THE YEAR)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2005... Woolworths' Big W discount store division has repositioned itself in response to the changing and increasingly competitive Australian market. In a bid to set its stores apart, Big W has committed itself to an everyday-low-price strategy, which...

The brand landscape.(SPOTLIGHT)
January 9, 2005... NEW YORK -- Although the popularity of major brands worldwide is picking up for the first time since 2002, several iconic American brands have lost ground due to increasingly negative perceptions of the United States. That is a major finding of...

Reviving retail brands.(SPOTLIGHT)
January 9, 2005... ST. LOUIS -- "I coulda been a contender" was ex-boxer Terry Malloy's anguished cry in the movie On The Waterfront. Unfortunately, many of today's retailers are facing the same fate as Malloy, betrayed not by a crooked brother but by...

How effective are pricing cues?(MERCHANDISING)
January 9, 2005... CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Holiday shoppers seek the best deals possible, but just posting an "on sale" sign is not enough to lead savvy consumers into retail outlets, according to MIT Sloan School of Management research. "If a store charges $2...

Rite Aid files shelf.(Industry News)(selling of debt, debt guarantees, common stock, preferred stock and warrants by Rite Aid Corp)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... RITE AID FILES SHELF: Rite Aid Corp. has filed a mixed shelf with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $1 billion periodically in debt, debt guarantees, common stock, preferred stock and warrants. The chain stated in the filing...

Home Depot online.(Industry News)(enabling customers to purchase more than 1,800 items online from its web site.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... HOME DEPOT ONLINE: Home Depot Inc. is expanding its home appliance business by enabling customers to purchase more than 1,800 items online from its web site, www.homedepot.com. Categories available include microwaves, trash compactors,...

Sears Canada CFO.(Industry News)(Sears Canada Inc. has named David Merkley interim chief financial officer.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... SEARS CANADA CFO: Sears Canada Inc. has named David Merkley interim chief financial officer until a permanent appointment is made. Merkley, who was vice president and corporate comptroller, has been with Sears since 1979 and has held several...

Penn Traffic O.K.(Industry News)(Penn Traffic Co. got approval from United States Bankruptcy Court to acquire supermarkets)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... PENN TRAFFIC O.K.: Penn Traffic Co. has won the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for its planned purchase of two Peter's Supermarkets in Syracuse, N.Y. The company plans to reopen the units under the P&C Supermarket banner. The...

MMR honors Wal-Mart management team.(MMR Retailer of the Year)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
January 10, 2005... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity... --Charles Dickens BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- The year that ended 10...

Wal-Mart's Degn is top Merchant of the Year.(MMR Merchant of the Year)(Doug Degn)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- There have been precious few merchants in the history of mass market retailing. Indeed, the best retailers have been operationally driven, those that have succeeded in opening up their doors on time, adequately staffing...

Lifetime Achievement award goes to Coughlin.(MMR Lifetime Achievement Award)(Tom Coughlin)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Never once in its 21-year publishing history has MMR given a lifetime achievement award. Many reasons may be offered for this regrettable lapse. But we prefer to believe that, until now, no one has been worthy. That...

Christmas could have been better.(News)
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- Once again, in 2004, Christmas sales proved maddeningly elusive for America's mass market retailers as a confluence of man-made and natural agents conspired to severely restrict sales of even the most basic of holiday merchandise....

Calif. supers, unions ink deal.(News)
January 10, 2005... SACRAMENTO -- Safeway Inc., Albertsons Inc. and Kroger Co.'s Ralphs chain have agreed to a contract with the union representing 19,000 grocery workers in northern California. The pact, which had to be ratified by members of United Food and...

Sesame Street to expand distribution.(News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... TROY, Mich. -- Kmart Holding Corp. will lose its exclusive right to sell Sesame Street clothing for children in mid-2005, ending an arrangement it has had since 1997. The company will, however, continue to sell some Sesame Street clothing,...

Ahold slims down, sells BI-LO, Bruno's.(News)
January 10, 2005... GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ahold NV has signed a definitive agreement to sell its two Southeastern supermarket chains, BI-LO and Bruno's, to Lone Star Funds for up to $660 million in cash. With the announcement, Ahold management fulfilled its...

Wal-Mart is coming to Big Apple.(News)
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- After announcing that it would open its first store in New York City as early as 2008, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is eyeing a second site in the city, a published report says. According to the report, which appeared in The Daily News,...

Covert to replace Hodge at Kroger.(News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... CINCINNATI -- Kroger Co. has announced that Robert Hodge, president of its Cincinnati/Dayton division, is retiring from the company at the end of January 2005. "Bob Hodge's contributions to Kroger are numerous," says Kroger president and...

Wild Oats taps Miller as chairman.(News)(Wild Oats Markets Inc. has named Robert Miller nonexecutive chairman.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BOULDER, Colo. -- Wild Oats Markets Inc. has named Robert Miller nonexecutive chairman of its board of directors. Miller currently serves as nonexecutive chairman of Rite Aid Corp. He was chief executive officer of Rite Aid from December...

Safeway puts money where shoppers are.(News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. has cut its earnings guidance for 2005 to accommodate a boost in marketing expenditures, a move made in hopes of luring back customers. Executives told attendees of its 2004 investor conference that the...

A&P continues to revamp.(News)(Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P has announced the next step in its reorganization. The latest initiative, which will affect the company's operations in the United States, will reduce overhead costs by an estimated $50 million during fiscal 2005 and...

Penn Traffic's new plan.(News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Penn Traffic Co. has filed a First Amended Plan of Reorganization Statement with the bankruptcy court for the First Southern District of New York. The statement describes the company's intention to consummate a...

The battle continues at Ahold.(2004 in Review)( Ahold USA Inc. )
January 10, 2005... ZAANDAM, the Netherlands -- Executives of Ahold USA Inc. and its Dutch parent company, Ahold NV, accurately describe 2004 as a year of transition for the troubled food retailing and food service conglomerate. It was also the second year of a...

Winn-Dixie tries new direction.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The past year has not been the best of times for Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. Hit with the deadly combination of restructuring and asset-impairment charges and declining sales, the 1,073-store supermarket chain lost nearly $100...

On the brink of the RFID era.(2004 in Review)(radio frequency identification equipment)
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- If electronic product codes (EPCs) turn out to be the next big thing in retail technology, then 2004 will doubtless be remembered as the year when the revolution got started. The promise of the technology is that EPCs, which are...

Impact of Calif. strike lingers.(2004 in Review)(California)(impact of strikes on supermarkets)
January 10, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- The longest supermarket strike in the United States ended in February, but its impact lingers for the retail chains involved. The dispute affected 852 stores operated by three major grocers in southern California over five...

Albertsons puts on a new face.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... BOISE, Idaho -- Last year may well be looked on as a major milestone for Albertsons Inc. as it underwent major restructurings and management changes. The grocer also expanded its operations through two strategic acquisitions. Overall the...

Changing of guard at Kroger.(2004 in Review)(retirement of Joseph Pichler at Kroger Co.)
January 10, 2005... CINCINNATI -- Last year saw the end of an era at Kroger Co. with the retirement in June of chairman Joseph Pichler after 24 years at the company. Pichler served as Kroger's chief executive officer from 1990 to 2003, when current chairman...

U.K. supermarketing changes.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... LONDON -- The United Kingdom's supermarket industry underwent a radical makeover in 2004 with the merger of William Morrison Supermarkets PLC with Safeway PLC. Having divested itself of 52 stores, 48 of which were Safeway units, the...

Drug benefit finally arrives.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... WASHINGTON -- After years of discussion and debate a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients became a reality last year. The prescription drug benefit that went into effect last spring as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of...

New formats now de Rigueur.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- Retailing is a constantly evolving business, and nowhere was the changing nature of mass market retailing more apparent last year than in several companies' introduction of new formats. Among the most high-profile of the new...

Chains tackle mail-order threat.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- Large pharmacy benefits management companies (PBMs) have attempted to protect their mail-order prescription drug businesses by insisting that retail pharmacies be limited to 30-day supply levels, but last year saw some chain drug...

Sears, Kmart cast lots together.(2004 in Review)(Kmart Holding Corp's purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co.)
January 10, 2005... TROY, Mich. -- A blockbuster deal between two struggling retailers--Kmart Holding Corp. and Sears, Roebuck and Co.--created the new entity Sears Holdings Corp. late last year. Kmart's move to buy Sears in an $11 billion agreement created...

Eckerd sale changes landscape.(2004 in Review)(J.C. Penney Co.'s sale of Eckerd Corp. to CVS Corp. and the Jean Coutu Group )
January 10, 2005... NEW YORK -- The biggest story in the chain drug industry and one of the most talked-about developments in all of mass market retailing last year was J.C. Penney Co.'s sale of Eckerd Corp. By selling the 2,800-store chain to CVS Corp. and...

Hurricanes hit Florida hard.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... TAMPA, Fla. -- The four Florida hurricanes that hit the state in August and September caused significant physical destruction and economic damage to residents and businesses, including several mass market retailers. The storms killed 117...

Divestitures hone Target focus.(2004 in Review)(Target Corp.)
January 10, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS -- Target Corp. tightened its focus in 2003, selling off its department store divisions to focus exclusively on the discount stores that have long accounted for the bulk of its sales and profits. The company, which changed its...

Urban 99 grows Wal-Mart scope.(2004 in Review)
January 10, 2005... TAMPA, Fla. -- The development of a scaled-down version of its Supercenter format could prove to be a critical catalyst in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s ongoing expansion effort. The first example of what has been dubbed the "Urban 99" prototype...

Broader horizons, better people.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- One of the most impressive aspects of Wal-Mart's senior management is its depth and flexibility. It is a trait that is deliberately fostered through the practice of moving managers and executives laterally through the...

The essence of the organization.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart )
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart executives acknowledge that the greatest challenge they face in fulfilling the growth potential that lies before them is finding and fostering the managerial talent to guide that growth. The scale of the company's...

'Culture, values part of our DNA'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- With a 23-year career in retailing management prior to joining Wal-Mart, Mike Duke can appreciate the uniqueness of the company's management approach from a broad perspective. Before coming to Bentonville in 1995 Duke...

At headquarters in Bentonville they 'walk the talk'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In many, if not most, large companies there are very visible signs of top management's elevated status relative to the employees, including such "perks" as roomy, pleasant offices and luxurious travel accommodations. ...

That Sam Walton touch still remains.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(founder of Wal-Mart)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- It is now more than a decade since founder Sam Walton passed away. With every succeeding year, there are fewer people within Wal-Mart who personally knew him. Because the culture that he created is viewed as the fount...

Wal-Mart aims to sell more for less.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In Mike Duke's opinion Wal-Mart's culture has played an integral role in the company's success. As an example, he points to the way one of the retailer's three core values--serving the customer plays out in product...

'Freshness belongs to the customers'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- When it comes to choosing where to do the bulk of their grocery shopping, a critical factor in most consumers' decision-making process is the quality of a store's perishables. That fact certainly has not been lost on...

Food retailing Wal-Mart's way.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- As those involved in food retailing watched Wal-Mart begin to show increased interest in that sector a decade or so ago, there must have been a palpable sense of foreboding trickling through the industry. As recently...

Company commits to quality and driving out costs.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart succeeds in food because it gives customers what they want: selection, quality, the right mix of national and private label brands and, most of all, low prices. The chain is able to achieve that feat for a...

Wal-Mart food.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Wal-Mart has become the nation's leading food retailer, largely on the strength of its Supercenter format, which features a full assortment of groceries, including deli/bakery departments. Sam's Club outlets also sell a lot of food, including...

Wal-Mart emerges as economic pacesetter.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- "In each historical epoch a prototypical enterprise seems to embody a new and innovative set of economic structures and social relationships," is how organizers of a conference about Wal-Mart held at the University of...

'The category-killer killer'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart may be the only retail chain in the world rightfully entitled to claim the title of "category-killer killer." It does not of course; it is just not the Wal-Mart way to bluster or brag. But as the past several...

Fashion accent is called for.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart's apparel offerings)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart's growth into America's largest food retailer over the past decade tends to dominate any discussion about the chain's performance, but that represents a decidedly myopic view of the company. The world's...

Ordinary items often extraordinary.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Supply chain efficiency and everyday-low prices are not the only common denominators uniting the varied collection of categories that comprise the general merchandise mix at Wal-Mart. Innovation is another important...

General merchandise.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Wal-Mart)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... For the first 26 years of its history Wal-Mart specialized in general merchandise. Such categories as toys, automotive supplies, sporting goods and hardware remain core categories in the discount stores and Supercenters, and Wal-Mart--already...

The nation's no. 3 pharmacist.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart has been involved in the pharmacy business since 1978, and its 3,400-plus prescription counters place it third behind only Walgreen Co. and CVS Corp. in terms of market penetration and pharmacy sales. Wal-Mart...

Wal-Mart lives up to its commitments.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- There has been no shortage of retailers promising to give customers what they want over the years, but throughout the industry's history no retailer has ever backed up those words to the extent Wal-Mart has. Wal-Mart's...

Wal-Mart pharmacy and H&BA.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(health and beauty aids )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Low prices have allowed Wal-Mart to capture a large and ever-growing share of the mass retail health and beauty aids business. Price is not Wal-Mart's only strength in the category, however. The retailer's devotion to the pharmacy business and...

Everywhere at Wal-Mart the door is open.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Having come to Sam's Club from the specialty retail sector, Sharon Orlopp was struck by the Wal-Mart open-door policy. It is a policy, she points out, that many companies claim to have, but which in practice clearly...

It's as simple as 'one, two, three'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Making Sam's Club successful, executives say, is as easy as counting to three. Speaking at Wal-Mart's annual shareholders meeting this year, division president and chief executive officer Kevin Turner explained that...

'Transition from store to HQ has been fun'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Kevin Turner is a true Wal-Mart success story. His association with the company started 20 years ago when he served as a cashier at a store in Ada, Okla. In 1988 he joined the company's internal audit department where...

Sam's Club.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Sam's Club has refocused on the needs of the small business owners who are its core customers, emphasizing such products as computers and other office equipment, and pallets full of industrial-size food and cleaning supplies. At the same time,...

Wal-Mart management style a blend of 'loose, tight'.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Although he is the chief financial officer for the largest company in the world, Tom Schoewe typically identifies himself, whether to a new Wal-Mart associate or to a meeting of financial analysts, with the phrase, "I work...

Web site a work in progress.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- The fine-tuning of Wal-Mart's web site is continuous for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is making sure that the company offers the products consumers want to purchase in cyberspace. For example, the...

Top financial job calls for savoir faire.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Tom Schoewe of Wal-Mart)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- As Wal-Mart's "numbers guy" Tom Schoewe has the responsibility of guiding the company to controlled, profitable growth. But he also frequently is the executive who represents Wal-Mart to the financial community of analysts...

Wal-Mart global biggest gainer.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Managing a company the size of Wal-Mart is not easy. In the International division, which is the company's fastest-growing business, accounting for some 19% of total sales last year, the challenges are magnified by the fact...

Changing face of the International division.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart's International division now regularly turns in the company's highest quarterly growth rates in sales and profits. Over the past five years the unit has generated 31% sales growth compounded annually, while profits...

An emphasis on improving.(News/Retailer Of The Year)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- This year will mark John Menzer's 10th year with Wal-Mart. Since 1999 he has been the president and chief executive officer of the International division, however, when he joined the chain in September 1995 he took the...

Europe a study in contrasts.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart's operations in Europe are in many respects a tale of two countries. While the discounter's Asda PLC supermarket chain has flourished in the United Kingdom, its units in Germany have failed to live up to...

Where there's an opportunity Wal-Mart moves forward.(News/Retailer Of The Year)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart International, like the rest of Wal-Mart, is focused on growth. International division president and chief executive officer John Menzer sees no shortage of prospects. "We have growth opportunities in every...

The wisdom of Doug Degn ...(News/Merchant Of The Year)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
January 10, 2005... "I'm interested in what's next, what merchandise hasn't been created yet. More to the point, how do we work with suppliers to access their research and development capabilities, creative people and innovation stream--and bring to life products...

A guardian of the Wal-Mart way of doing things.(News/Lifetime Achievement Award)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Probably more than any other executive currently with the company, Tom Coughlin represents the heart and soul of Wal-Mart to its managers and associates. His ability to inspire is both legendary and varied. For...

He understood what Walton had to teach him.(News/Lifetime Achievement Award)
January 10, 2005... BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Tom Coughlin has often told the story of one of the incidents that first hooked him on Wal-Mart. Coughlin had moved through much of the interviewing process and was due to meet the company's founder and then chairman...

The Coughlin years.(News/Lifetime Achievement Award)
January 10, 2005... 1978 * Tom Coughlin joins Wal-Mart in the company's security division, launching a career with the retailer that will span more than 25 years. * Wal-Mart opens its first major distribution center outside Bentonville, a...

Scoreboard.(Money News)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... SCOREBOARD Quarter Dollar % RETAILERS Ended Sales Change Costco (1) 11/21 11.6 bil +10.1 Family Dollar 11/27 1.38 bil +10.8 Kroger (2) 11/06 12.9 bil...

Albertsons declares dividend.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... ALBERTSONS DECLARES DIVIDEND: Albertsons Inc. has declared a quarter cash dividend of 19 cents a share payable on February 8 to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 12.

Pricesmart details rights offering.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... PRICESMART DETAILS RIGHTS OFFERING: PriceSmart Inc. has distributed transferable subscription rights to purchase shares of its common stock at 1/100 cents per share to stockholders of record as of November 24. Each stockholder will receive one...

Dividend declared at Ingles Markets.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... DIVIDEND DECLARED AT INGLES MARKETS: Ingles Markets Inc. has declared cash dividends of 16.5 cents a share on its Class A common stock and 15 cents a share on its Class B common stock. The dividends are payable January 12 to shareholders of...

Hudson's Bay may buy back shares.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... HUDSON'S BAY MAY BUY BACK SHARES: The Toronto Stock Exchange has given the O.K. for Hudson's Bay Co. to repurchase up to 3.46 million of its outstanding common shares over the next year. If all the shares are eventually bought up, the...

Tuesday Morning lowers 2004 guidance.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... TUESDAY MORNING LOWERS 2004 GUIDANCE: Citing lower-than-expected seasonal sales, home accessories and gift retailer Tuesday Morning Corp. has lowered its 2004 earnings guidance and forecast fourth-quarter results below Wall Street's...

Albertsons renews stock repurchase program.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... ALBERTSONS RENEWS STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM: Albertsons Inc. has renewed its program to purchase up to $500 million of its common stock at the company's discretion. The renewal will allow the company to repurchase its outstanding shares at any...

Moody's cuts Sainsbury rating.(Money News)(J. Sainsbury PLC)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... MOODY'S CUTS SAINSBURY RATING: Moody's Investors Service has reduced its ratings on British supermarket operator J. Sainsbury PLC, saying it feels that the company will find it difficult to achieve sustainable growth in the near future. Moody's...

Fitch sees Kroger as stable.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... FITCH SEES KROGER AS STABLE: Fitch Ratings has assigned a BBB rating to Kroger Co.'s $300 million of 4.95% senior notes due January 15, 2015. In addition, Fitch rates Kroger's existing $7.8 billion of senior debt BBB and its $1.8 billion...

Hudson's Bay renews $200 million securitization.(Money News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... HUDSON'S BAY RENEWS $200 MILLION SECURITIZATION: Hudson's Bay Co. has renewed $200 million of its $900 million credit card receivables securitization program that has been scheduled for liquidation and payment beginning January 31.

Biggest gainers.(Money)(drugstores stock)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... BIGGEST GAINERS Close Change % Stock 12/17/04 vs. 11/26/04 Change A&P 9.80 +2.20 +28.9 Cardinal Health 57.75 +5.98 ...

Biggest losers.(Money)(drugstores)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... BIGGEST LOSERS Close Change % Stock 11/17/04 vs. 11/26/04 Change Circuit City 14.72 -1.86 -11.2 Casey's 17.45 -2.00 ...

Most active.(Money)(drugstores stocks)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... MOST ACTIVE Vol. (000) As a % Change vs. 1 Wk. Ended of Total 1 Wk. Ended Stock 12/17/04 Shares 11/26/04 Winn-Dixie 14,347 9.7 ...

Albertsons calls results encouraging.(Money)
January 10, 2005... BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons Inc. chalked up double-digit gains in sales and income from continuing operations during the 13 weeks ended October 28, buoyed by recent acquisitions and comparison against a 2003 quarter when results were depressed...