Cough-cold supplier Matrixx on Thursday credited tough comparisons against the prior season’s high pre-season inventory purchases by retailers due to the publicity of the H1N1 flu outbreak for the lower level of sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Wednesday released “Roadmap for Retailers: Safely Navigating What You Say About Dietary Supplements,” an educational tool to remind the supplement industry about its responsibilities with regard to the laws and regulations under which supplements are sold.

Walgreens announced several executive appointments Monday, which included naming a former United Airlines executive to the post of chief customer experience officer.

Walgreens has talked plenty about its Customer Centric Retailing initiative since the overhaul of its store merchandising and marketing strategy kicked off two years ago. But the rejuvenation of Walgreens’ sprawling, coast-to-coast store network is just the tip of the CCR iceberg, company leaders said.

Walgreens’ massive Customer Centric Retailing initiative is transforming the way the company’s stores are merchandised and designed as it rolls into an ever-larger proportion of its more than 7,600 stores across the United States. But it’s only the opening drive in a campaign to “reinvent the customer experience in our stores,” president and CEO Greg Wasson told shareholders Wednesday.

With the explosion in such mobile devices as smart phones, Walgreens is expanding its access across an ever-wider array of options for health consumers, president and CEO Greg Wasson told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Wednesday.

Newell Rubbermaid, whose portfolio includes the hair accessories brand Goody, has announced that its president and CEO, Mark Ketchum, will retire later this year.

Grocer Food City has inked a partnership with the University of Tennessee Medical Center to expand the Healthy Living Kitchen — a move that is expected to result in a significantly greater reach for Healthy Living Kitchen programs and educational efforts at schools, community events and Food City supermarkets throughout the region.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Monday named Bill Head as the association’s VP government affairs, effective Jan. 17, and promoted David Spangler as the association’s SVP policy, general counsel and secretary, effective immediately.

In a resounding declaration that its massive revitalization efforts have been the right strategy at the right time, Walgreens on Wednesday reported its net earnings jumped to a record $580 million in first quarter fiscal 2011, rising nearly 19% over prior-year levels. Sales for the period ended Nov. 30 also rose 6% to $17.3 billion, another record for the nation’s top drug retailer.