Rite Aid 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

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Marketing and Advertising
In fiscal 2010, marketing and advertising expense was approximately $375 million, which was spent
primarily on weekly circular advertising. Our marketing and advertising activities centered primarily on
the following:
• Product price promotions to draw customers to our stores;
• Our wellness+ loyalty program, which rolled out to the rest of the chain April 18, 2010 will be
the largest marketing expenditure that we have made in several years;
• Initiatives to grow pharmacy sales, including a free Rx Savings Card, which provides significant
cost savings on generic and brand prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to patients
with limited or no insurance;
• Emphasis on the value of Rite Aid brand products;
• Support of specific initiatives and stores, including competitor market intrusion and prescription
file buys; and
• Our vision to be the customer’s first choice for health and wellness products, services and
information.
Under the umbrella of our ‘‘With Us It’s Personal’’ brand positioning, we promoted educational
programs focusing on specific health conditions and incentives for patients to transfer their
prescriptions to Rite Aid. We are also emphasizing our automated courtesy refill service. We believe all
of these programs will help us improve customer satisfaction and grow profitable sales.
Associates
We believe that our relationships with our associates are good. As of February 27, 2010, we had
approximately 97,500 associates; 13% were pharmacists, 44% were part-time and 26% were unionized.
Associate satisfaction is critical to the success of our strategy. We have surveyed our associates to
obtain feedback on various employment-related topics, including job satisfaction and their
understanding of our core values and mission. We have also instituted an internal group, consisting of
managers and staff from all components of our business that is responsible for using feedback from
associates throughout the Company to create a better work environment.
The national shortage of pharmacists has eased over the past 12 months, resulting in more licensed
pharmacists and new graduates seeking positions in many markets. Although this is occurring
nationally, there is still an unmet demand for pharmacists in certain regions of the country that are
challenging to staff. We continue to offer competitive compensation plans to retain and attract current
and future pharmacists, work with Colleges of Pharmacy across the U.S. to recruit both pharmacy
interns and pharmacy graduates and conduct a recruiting program for international pharmacists.
Research and Development
We do not make significant expenditures for research and development.
Licenses, Trademarks and Patents
The Rite Aid name is our most significant trademark and the most important factor in marketing
our stores and private brand products. We hold licenses to sell beer, wine and liquor, cigarettes and
lottery tickets. As part of our strategic alliance with GNC, we have a license to operate GNC
‘‘stores-within-Rite Aid-stores.’’ We also hold licenses to operate our pharmacies and our distribution
facilities. Collectively, these licenses are material to our operations.
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