With retailers on all sides of the aisle attempting to become one-stop-shopping and lifestyle platforms, traditional supermarket retailers are moving in that direction as well. Safeway—the megachain with a footprint stretching across much of the United States—has just offered a glimpse at its own attempt to become more things to more people, providing a peek at its new wellness platform slated to launch in the second quarter.

"Today, we're a supermarket company ... selling wellness services and wellness products," CEO Steve Burd told analysts, according to Drug Store News. But within 10 years, he said, Safeway would become a wellness company that happens to sell food.

The impulse for supermarket chains to expand the meaning and capabilities of their brands is understandable, in an environment where mass merchandisers such as Walmart and Target have impinged greatly on their CPG business, and even drug-store chains and dollar stores are selling more groceries. Now Walmart, for example, also is expanding its purview in healthcare and "wellness" as well, beyond the traditional in-store pharmacies long offered by mass discounters and supermarkets alike.Continue reading...

As America’s economy climbs back from some brutal years, plenty of folks are still looking for work. No matter how desperate they are, though, there are a few companies that they might want to avoid. 

One of them is satellite TV provider Dish Network. It already has 26,000 employees, but the word is that not too many of them are happy. Last August, 24/7 Wall Street named it the Worst Company to Work for in America. Now that’s an accolade to put on your LinkedIn profile.

What makes it so bad? “Long hours, lack of paid holidays, and way too much mandatory overtime,” Bloomberg Businessweek reports. And it’s all because of one man: the 59-year-old legendary founder and chairman of Dish, Charlie Ergen, who maintains 53.2 percent of the company’s shares and 90.4 percent of the voting rights.

Ergen has never met a penny he didn't pinch. And while that sometimes means making shrewd business decisions, it also means making such choices as installing fingerprint scanners at the doors to company headquarters that are rigged to send emails directly to HR if an employee is late. The company only put in the scanners after Ergen noticed that the key/badge system was being circumvented by employees badging in for coworkers.

And the renowned cable-hater certainly has an eye for such detail.Continue reading...

Alexander McQueen brand expands to bespoke tailor on London's Savile Row.

American Airlines parent AMR reportedly eyeing bankruptcy court to void union contracts.

Angry Birds Space lands.

Apple antitrust suit would impact Amazon book monopoly.

Associated Press picks CEO successor.

AT&T reinvents the steering wheel.

Benihaha becomes target of takeover bids.

China factory activity shrinks in March.

Datsun revival seen as Nissan strategy not to devalue Infiniti.Continue reading...

News Corp. titans, Rupert and James Murdoch, face three-hour Parliamentary questioning today in spreading phone-hacking scandal.

Walmart reportedly eyes Rite Aid.

AMD stalls in CEO search, which might overshadow earnings improvements.

American Airlines leans toward Airbus over Boeing in fleet decision, Journal says, while Bloomberg hears that the airline may split the order.

American Family Insurance promotes “the American dream.”

Baidu reaches deal with major record labels.Continue reading...

Airbus may develop longer-range plane to rival Boeing.

Apple tucks Newsstand into WWDC announcements.

AT&T's bid for T-Mobile is supported by Microsoft and Facebook.

Barack Obama's chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, resigns.

Bayer prostate-cancer drug shows promise.

BHP Billiton starts first US Gulf well since BP disaster.

BP tries to salvage Rosneft deal.Continue reading...

Microsoft is scrapping its social youth-aiming Kin phone after less than two months on the market.

AIG's chairman and CEO are at odds.

Amazon acquired deal-of-the-day site, Woot, which celebrates with $150 Kindle special. Kindle DX also slashes price.

Apple launches iAds today with Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Best Buy, and Chanel.Continue reading...

Wrigley has a secretive new promotion for 5 React gum. [BrandFreak]

Cigarette brands are standing by menthol products. [CNN Money]

Sarah Palin's television show will not include LL Cool J. [Business Insider]

Poor sales for Rite Aid mean less interest in the company. [Daily Finance]

Pharmaceutical brands are big business, and the competition is fierce. Pharma brands are exploring inventive and aggressive ways to reach existing and prospective consumers, which often means promoting them like many other mainstream products.

So it's no surprise that Prevacid 24HR, an over-the-counter competitor of Prilosec OTC (both drugs are designed to ease the symptoms associated with heartburn) is flooding retailers with in-store promotions that rival even the most aggressive consumer marketing tactics. Even before its November launch, Prevacid 24 HR was being touted by retail superstores Costco, Target, and Wal-Mart, grocery stores Kroger and Safeway, and drug chains CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.Continue reading...