An independent specialty pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc. has become the largest organization of its kind in the country. The company’s roots date to the early 1970s, and it has grown to provide personalized medication therapies to people with specialized needs.
“Our growth accelerated in 2005 when we launched our national distribution center,” CEO and Chairman Phil Hagerman says. “Everything we do is focused on patients in need.”
Today, Diplomat is headquartered in Flint, Mich. In addition to its national headquarters, the company has walk-in retail pharmacies in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Flint, Mich. and Brookhaven, Pa. Additionally, it operates 13 support sites in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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The CDMA is much more than just a buying co-op. “We really pride ourselves on being the connection point between the vendor and retail communities,” says John Devine, vice president of the Novi, Mich.-based organization. “We look out for needs of both communities, and make the relationship between the two profitable and successful for both parties.”
Founded in 1926 to support the marketing and merchandising efforts of its members, the CDMA today helps more than 100 independent and regional chains in all aspects of their retail operations, particularly when it comes to stocking their shelves. The association also represents wholesalers as well as manufacturers. The association serves more than 3,000 retail stores in total.
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Bon-Ton Stores CEO Kathryn Bufano has been in love with department stores for practically her entire life. She says some of her happiest childhood memories came from the shopping trips she took with her mother to the Carson’s department store in Chicago, and the dizzying array of clothing on the racks there sparked her interest in the world of fashion retailing. “The bonding experience of shopping with my mother was one of the most exciting times,” Bufano says.
That abiding enthusiasm for fashion and department stores carried over to her college years, and at that time her shopping trips with her mother became more like fact-finding missions. She says she asked as many questions as she could about how department stores like Carson’s were merchandized and how the store’s buyers brought the latest fashions to its customers. As soon as she realized she could make department stores her career, Bufano says, everything clicked. “That was the spark that connected my love of shopping to the business world,” she says.
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Leomil Group
DC Super Hero Girls footwear
DC Super Hero Girls, an exciting new universe of Super Heroic storytelling that helps build character and confidence, and empowers girls. Complete line of athletics, canvas, slippers and fashion boots feature iconic superhero shields and pop art.
Leomilgroup
Leomil Group
Jurassic World shoes
The long awaited Jurassic World returns this summer! Boys can step into their very own action-adventure Jurassic World shoes. The Jurassic World line of athletics, sandals, slippers and boots feature life like Jurassic dinosaurs and athletic lighted metallic uppers.
Leomilgroup
Strapworks
Hose and Cord Hanger
Our Hose and Cord Hanger is perfect for home improvement centers, home and garden centers, grocery chains with a home and garden section. Also available in a two pack. Made in the USA, no minimums, retail ready.
Strapworks
Accessory Innovations
Angry Birds Soft Sided Luggage
This Angry Birds Soft Sided Luggage is perfect for all your little gamer’s travel essentials. It has an extendable handle, wheels for easy pulling and a variety of pockets to keep everything organized and accessible while you’re on the go. With its bold red and black design, it will be unmissable on the luggage carousel.
Angry birds Luggage
Dr. Fresh
Firefly Angry Birds Mouth Rinse
Even the most resistant of kids will be encouraged to keep their dental hygiene in check with the Firefly Angry Birds Mouth Rinse. It features a fun pump modeled on the characters head, a no mess rinse cup and it is bubble gum flavor while being sugar and alcohol free.
Dr. Fresh
SCL Footwear Group
Goodyear Footwear
The Goodyear Work and Safety shoe line, inspired by Goodyear brand attributes of innovation, durability and extreme weather performance, offers some of the newest technologies available for oil and skid resistance, waterproofing, electric hazard protection, safety steel and composite toe protection, and insulated comfort. SCL will be launching new categories of Goodyear footwear in 2015 including Racing, Vintage, Athletic, Outdoor and Casual footwear.
Goodyear Footwear
Live Nation
House of Blues
House of Blues is open for licensing in all categories.
House of Blues
Titan Merchandise
Ghostbusters TITANS
“Who Ya Gonna Call?” From Sony and Titan Merchandise comes Ghostbusters TITANS! Launched in 2015, this global collection combines stylized-vinyl and the blind-box purchasing. With multiple product waves of 12 figurines, exclusive iterations, and closed box packaging, collectors can have access to nearly infinite variations!
Titan Merchandise
Strapworks
Three Stooges pitcher pad and coasters
The iconic Three Stooges brand provides a huge audience of buyers ready to grab up new and unique memorabilia as well as products for everyday use. Pitcher pads, coasters, koozies, belts, suspenders, guitar straps, and more are available. Retail ready, pre-ticketing available, no minimums, made in the USA.
Strapworks
Students enrolled in Western Michigan University’s food and consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing program are receiving a unique educational experience that relies on the support of business partnerships to assist in preparing them for positions in the field.
The connection with industry is a central theme of the Food/CPG Marketing program at WMU, starting with the first introductory class of the program and extending through students’ upper-level classes. The four-year business degree program prepares students for myriad positions in the CPG industry, including retail management, category management, research, sales, logistics and food service. Students routinely go to work for many of the leading companies in the industry after serving internships with the firms, explains Frank Gambino, director of the program.
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Parties are all about people coming together, so it’s only natural that a company like Wally’s Party Factory would put so much emphasis on being an active part of the communities it serves. According to Vice President Jonathan Erwin, the Texas-based party supply chain not only provides customers with everything they need to host their own gatherings of friends and family, but it also works hard to ensure that it is just as much a part of the community as they are. That emphasis has been key to the company’s success over the years, Erwin says, and is a major part of the reason why Wally’s Party Factory is the second-largest party supply chain in the country.
The company has been serving Texas since 1995, when Erwin’s father, Walter Erwin, converted the business to the sale of party supplies. Before that, the company focused on closeouts and manufacturing giftwrap for department stores, but the success of the party supply side of the business inspired a switch to focusing on that entirely. Today, Wally’s Party Factory has 27 locations throughout Texas and Oklahoma, and continues to be a family owned and operated company.
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Vitamin World has come a long way since it began in 1976 with a single location. From a small kiosk in Williamsville, N.Y., the company has expanded into malls to create the footprint that it has today thanks to becoming part of NBTY, an American manufacturer of vitamins and nutritional supplements.
“As part of a $3 billion enterprise, our organization garners a wide variety of benefits,” President Jack Krause says. “World-class manufacturing and sourcing functions enable us to create great-quality products at a reasonable price. We have the ability to share ideas and consumer insights with leaders across the business. This scale also gives us an extended talent pool and capabilities in corporate shared functions such as IT, HR and business management.”
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The late-2000s were a difficult time for high-end kitchen equipment maker Viking Range Corporation. Like many luxury goods manufacturers, the Greenwood, Miss.-based company was affected as consumers scaled back purchasing during the recession. Further, Viking struggled as its list of products grew beyond what was manageable, though its brand value remained high.
But since being bought out by The Middleby Corporation at the end of 2012, CEO Selim Bassoul has helped the company regain its focus and improve sales and profits. “We’re growing now instead of shrinking,” says Brent Bailey, vice president of brand management.
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