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Industry: Email Alert RSS FeedCategory growth yields mild returns
Drug Store News, May 20, 2002
Indeed, only three categories--diet aids, external analgesics and lip balms/cold sore medications--experienced double-digit growth on bases exceeding $100 million.
Beyond that, there were some smaller pockets of growth found in smoking-cessation gum products, driven by the introduction of flavors, which eclipsed $226.3 million in sales on a 10.4 percent growth curve. Other categories that fueled drug store incremental increases (that are not broken out separately in the following pages) include adult incontinence products, nasal sprays, both ovulation and pregnancy test kits, as well as male contraceptives.
Traditionally, pharmacy-to-OTC switches increase OTC dollar rings exponentially, and there were no such switches in 2001. However, looking forward, there are a few switch candidates on the horizon that may impact their respective categories. Prilosec and Claritin collectively pulled in about $6 billion in prescription sales last year, according to Drug Store News estimates. It's possible but undetermined whether either will be switched in the near future.
OTC performance
Total F/D/M (*)
Category $ % change
sales (**) versus year ago
Vitamins $2,313.2 -4.2%
Internal analgesics 2,230.4 -2.1
Cold/allergy/sinus tablets 1,290.6 1.2
Weight loss/nutrition liquids and 957.4 15.1
powders
Eye/contact lens care 862.8 -2.3
First aid accessories 701.2 3.5
First aid treatments 627.5 2.4
Gastrointestinal liquids 540.0 -1.9
Foot care products 503.9 -0.3
Anti-smoking products 478.6 0.8
Feminine needs 470.6 -0.7
Adult incontinence products 469.2 6.1
Nasal products 381.2 3.5
Cough drops 357.6 -0.2
Weight loss candy and tablets 332.3 39.0
Cough syrup 283.1 4.1
Lip balm/cold sore medication 264.5 19.1
Family planning 244.5 3.4
Contraceptives 231.3 1.7
External analgesics 213.0 16.9
Sleeping aids 131.9 0.5
Lice treatments 96.4 -13.2
Personal thermometers 91.1 1.2
Hemorrhoidal cream/ointment/spray 70.7 -7.4
Hemorrhoidal remedies 70.7 19.7
Chest rubs 54.4 10.8
Wart removers 50.2 -0.7
Motion sickness remedies 36.2 7.2
Ear drops/treatments 32.9 6.5
Ear care products 25.2 7.7
Drug stores
Category $ % change
sales (**) versus year ago
Vitamins $1,263.0 -4.8%
Internal analgesics 950.7 -1.2
Cold/allergy/sinus tablets 605.4 2.3
Weight loss/nutrition liquids and 206.1 15.7
powders
Eye/contact lens care 391.4 -2.0
First aid accessories 439.5 4.7
First aid treatments 363.3 2.9
Gastrointestinal liquids 275.4 -0.9
Foot care products 272.0 -1.3
Anti-smoking products 347.9 4.8
Feminine needs 255.1 -0.8
Adult incontinence products 259.5 4.7
Nasal products 213.6 4.0
Cough drops 176.1 1.3
Weight loss candy and tablets 195.2 25.0
Cough syrup 158.3 3.0
Lip balm/cold sore medication 134.4 25.4
Family planning 161.5 3.8
Contraceptives 152.9 1.3
External analgesics 143.8 21.3
Sleeping aids 63.8 0.6
Lice treatments 69.8 -13.7
Personal thermometers 61.4 -0.2
Hemorrhoidal cream/ointment/spray 41.9 -3.7
Hemorrhoidal remedies 41.2 15.7
Chest rubs 27.0 12.6
Wart removers 27.7 -2.8
Motion sickness remedies 24.3 6.8
Ear drops/treatments 23.5 8.3
Ear care products 19.5 6.9
Drug chains only
Category $ % change
sales (**) versus year ago
Vitamins $955.0 -4.1%
Internal analgesics 726.3 -0.6
Cold/allergy/sinus tablets 474.1 4.2
Weight loss/nutrition liquids and 175.3 20.0
powders
Eye/contact lens care 306.1 -2.0
First aid accessories 327.4 5.1
First aid treatments 270.6 2.9
Gastrointestinal liquids 204.9 -0.9
Foot care products 215.6 -0.1
Anti-smoking products 282.1 7.0
Feminine needs 204.5 0.5
Adult incontinence products 195.8 3.9
Nasal products 162.0 5.5
Cough drops 138.0 2.0
Weight loss candy and tablets 168.8 26.8
Cough syrup 118.3 3.3
Lip balm/cold sore medication 108.1 25.8
Family planning 133.2 5.6
Contraceptives 132.6 3.2
External analgesics 108.2 24.2
Sleeping aids 51.4 1.9
Lice treatments 51.9 -12.4
Personal thermometers 47.5 1.5
Hemorrhoidal cream/ointment/spray 30.8 -4.3
Hemorrhoidal remedies 31.4 16.3
Chest rubs 21.2 15.9
Wart removers 21.0 -1.5
Motion sickness remedies 17.9 6.4
Ear drops/treatments 17.4 10.0
Ear care products 15.3 8.4
Source: Information Resources Inc. for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 30
(*)Total F/D/M excludes Wal-Mart
(**)Sales in millions
COPYRIGHT 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
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