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Winn-Dixie names new president and ceo
Winn-Dixie Stores on Friday announced that it has appointed Peter Lynch as president and ceo of the company, effective immediately. Lynch will also become a member of the company's board of Directors. Lynch is replacing former company CEO Frank Lazaran, and most recently served for three years as president and Chief Operating Officer of Albertson's...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | Reuters

E-tailing finally hits its stride
As e-tailing heads into its 10th holiday season, it is coming of age. With more households shifting to faster broadband connections and online shopping increasingly friendly, Americans are purchasing ever more stuff on the Web. While growth has slowed from last year's hefty 38% gain, that's still a 26% leap from the $114 billion racked up in 2003. But the numbers tell only part of the story. Big changes are percolating through e-tailing -- and spilling over into the broader world of retailing...
BusinessWeek

Additional News:

• Wal-Mart December sales seen up 1-3 percent Yahoo/Reuters
• Tricks alleged in Ex-Kmart execs' case Yahoo/AP
• CVS drug stores designing with women in mind South Florida Sun Sentinel
• Target tests RFID for security RFID Journal

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Maker of Procrit issues Dear Health Care Professional letter
Ortho Biotech Products has issued a Dear Health Care Professional letter concerning important changes to the safety and dosing information of the product labeling for Procrit (epoetin alfa, recombinant). The manufacturer has made changes to the hemoglobin rate of rise and target to ensure labeling consistency with other drugs in the class...
Facts & Comparisons

Bristol-Myers to seek over-the-counter OK
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Friday that it plans to pursue FDA approval to sell an over-the-counter version of its cholesterol-lowering drug, Pravachol. The drug maker said Bayer Healthcare LLC will handle over-the-counter sales and promotions for the 20 milligram version of Pravachol, also known as pravastatin sodium. The prescription drug is approved by the FDA for 10 milligram, 20 milligram, 40 milligram and 80 milligram doses...
CNBC

Additional News:

• Rutgers researchers optimistic about trio of AIDS drugs Newsday
• Diabetes vaccine trials to begin BBC News
• Chiron gets warning letter from FDA CNBC
• J&J: Don't stop dealmaking now BusinessWeek
• Nearly half of U.S. adults closely following news coverage of Vioxx withdrawal Yahoo/PRNewswire

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Does chocolate qualify as a health food?
It's the news we've all been waiting for — chocolate is a healthy snack. Or so one candy company says. This holiday season, Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier, based in St. Louis, announced it has come up with a healthy chocolate the company claims actually is good for you and can even help you lose weight. Is it possible, or is this news just too good to be true?
ABC News

Death stalks smokers in beta-carotene study
Years after they stopped taking high-dose beta-carotene supplements, a group of smokers still suffer extra-high rates of lung cancer and death. The smokers took part in two ill-starred clinical trials testing whether beta-carotene and vitamin A could prevent lung cancer. Nearly everybody thought it would work. And they were wrong. Lung cancer, heart disease, and death from all causes shot up in those who took high-dose beta-carotene...
WebMD

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Newell Rubbermaid taps former Colgate Palmolive exec
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. tapped former Colgate Palmolive executive Steven G. Marton to lead the company's $1.7 billion global office products business, which includes brands like Sharpie, Paper Mate, and uni-ball. Marton will serve as group president of office products, and will report to chief executive officer Joe Galli. Marton, 48, most recently was president and chief operating officer of Hill's Pet Nutrition for Colgate Palmolive...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | Retail Merchandiser

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Consumers losing interest in soy products
Consumers may be losing their enthusiasm for soy, according to a recent study from Mintel Reports. Although figures show a 17 percent increase in sales of soy food and drink products between 2001 and 2002, sales had begun to slow by 2003. The market continued to show growth between 2003 and 2004, but the increase was recorded at just 6 percent...
Retail Merchandiser

Sara Lee, Kraft meats could lure hungry buyer
Could Kraft or Sara Lee's meat businesses be just the thing to satisfy Smithfield Foods Inc.'s appetite for deals? Like other meatpackers, Smithfield has shifted from simply supplying raw materials to companies like Kraft Foods Inc. and Sara Lee Corp. to processing its own branded meat. Northfield-based Kraft already has sold Life Savers and Altoids; some analysts think its Oscar Mayer and Louis Rich meat brands are next...
Crain's Chicago Business

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Best Buy, Circuit City go "gadget to gadget"
As the holiday shopping season ticks away, two of the biggest players in consumer electronics -- Best Buy and Circuit City -- go head to head, gadget to gadget. The stores sell many of the same products. Each stresses low prices. Each seems to be everywhere. Yet they are different. For one thing, Best Buy has sales this year of about $25 billion; Circuit City booked less than $10 billion...
MSNBC

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Retail Forward identifies countries with best "retail market opportunity"
China tops Retail Forward's ranking of the best retail market opportunities around the world. Based on forecasts of retail sales through 2008 and measures of market risks, Retail Forward has identified the countries most attractive for retail expansion in its recently published report, Global Retail Outlook. Asian countries led by China dominate the top of the rankings of 33 key retail markets around the world...
Retail Merchandiser

Study: Fewer teens engaging in sex
Fewer teens are engaging in sexual activity than in the past, and those that do are more likely to use contraceptives, the government said Friday. The National Center for Health Statistics said that for girls aged 15 to 17 the percentage who had ever had intercourse declined from 38% in 1995 to 30% in 2002. For boys, the agency said, the decline was 43% to 31%...
USA Today

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