July sees chains solid gains

Drug Store News,  August 18, 2003  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

NEW YORK -- While warm weather and easy sales comparisons fueled much of retailers' July sales growth, several leading drug chains benefited from strong sales at the pharmacy counter.

At Rite Aid, pharmacy sales led the way as comparable-store sales rose 7.4 percent. Same-store increased 6.3 percent, while front-end same-store sales climbed 4.3 percent--both exceeded analysts' expectations. Total sales rose 5.3 percent to $1.23 billion.

Despite impact of about 200 basis points due to generics, CVS experienced a same-store pharmacy sales increase of 8.9 percent--at the high-end of analysts' expectations. Same-store sales rose 6.1 percent, while front-end sales inched up 0.6 percent. Total sales at CVS rose 8.3 percent to $1.93 billion during July.

Meanwhile, Walgreens met expectations riding double-digit sales gains in pharmacy counter of 13.5 percent. Total prescriptions filled at comparable stores rose 8 percent. Same-store sales climbed up 9.8 percent, with front-end sales up 3.9 percent. Total sales at the drug chain rose 13.7 percent to $2.75 billion.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning