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Drug Store News, August 5, 1996 by Mike Troy, Lisa I. Fried, Liz Parks

ATLANTA -- While some Atlanta retailers were less than satisfied with their sales during the recently concluded Summer Olympic Games, chain drug retailing, particularly with its convenience and health image, did well. Here's how three chains fared:

With roughly 125 stores in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Eckerd benefitted greatly from the Centennial Olympic games, according to the company. Eckerd partnered with official Olympic sponsor Coca Cola on promotional tie-ins that allowed Eckerd customers the chance to win caps, T-shirts, gym bags and cash.

"One of our biggest challenges in preparing for the Olympics was to determine where our heaviest store traffic would be, relative to the various Olympic venues, and determIne which product categories would be in highest demand," said Eckerd regional vice president Doug Sheasley.

"As a convenience-oriented retailer we were a logical stop for many visitors and shoppers with last minute needs, particularly in the areas of film and photofinishing, convenience foods, bottled water, soft drinks and OTC products."

Revco D.S. revved up its marketing machine during the Olympics, emphasizing its relationship with Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton and its position as a health care provider. To position itself as a valuable health care provider, the chain created educational booklets and point of sale materials in six languages. The booklet promoted the fact that the chain's pharmacists could handle the prescription needs of international visitors by identifying domestic equivalents of foreign drugs and recommending local doctors. It also contained listings of Revco stores, information on local doctors, clinics and hospitals and translation services.

In-store materials produced in d French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, German and English, directed foreign travelers to ask the pharmacist about remedies for common ailments, including a headache, runny nose or stomach ache.

Anticipating heavier traffic than usual in its stores, the chain stepped up deliveries when necessary to the stores and stocked up on consumables, film, sun care and other items of interest to travelers. To get a handle on what type of special items to add, the chain reviewed historical POS Jata from its stores during other special events, such as the Pan American Games or air shows.

Business at Big B's four downtown stores here, near the cere of the Olympic festivities, was "elbow to elbow," according to Bob Little, senior vice president.

The chain reported that its customer mix was heavily slanted toward Olympiads, and business was brisk in the types of products that tourists tend to crave--food and beverages and comfort items like sunglasses, T-shirts, caps and souvenirs.

To help non-English speaking visitors, Big B posted signs in six languages in its windows identifying the stores as pharmacies.

All four Big B stores close to the Olympic action extended their hours. Although Big B expected sales in its four Olympic neighborhood stores to increase 30 percent to 50 percent during the duration of the Olympics, "Our expenses have grown too and it may work out to where we just break even," said Little.