Shoppers Drug Mart opens the fourth enhanced beautyBOUTIQUE™

Five thousand square feet of prestige beauty awaits Chinook Centre customers

CALGARY, Aug. 28, 2014 /CNW/ - (TSX : L) – Continuing its commitment to give Canadians the best beauty experience in retail, Shoppers Drug Mart today unveiled its enhanced beautyBOUTIQUE™ at Chinook Centre.  Featuring 21 prestige brands, this will be the fourth Shoppers Drug Mart location in Canada to offer customers an elevated prestige beauty experience. The 5,000 square-foot beautyBOUTIQUE features new fixtures, digital signage, enhanced fragrance and derm areas and provides customers with a luxurious retail environment complemented by a wide assortment of prestigious brands.

"Our goal was to design a unique and inspiring experience leveraging our customer insights in beauty while also integrating emerging customer trends," said Domenic Pilla, President and CEO, Shoppers Drug Mart. "Shoppers Drug Mart has always pushed the envelope when it comes to the beauty category and as a result we have become the market leader in mass and prestige cosmetics, fragrances and skin care products and the beauty destination of choice for Canadian women."

The design was inspired by a gift box and the idea of unravelling a ribbon to reveal the present. The ribbon concept can be seen in the elements of the store design including the digital signage wrapped around the boutique and the finishing elements extending over the fixtures to the ceiling.  The boutique's design allows customers to feel comfortable browsing in an environment that is modern, sleek and interactive while also catering to their need to complete their shopping quickly.

"It is the right time to evolve and enhance our concept to modernize the fixtures, adapt to changing shopping behaviours, incorporate new communication vehicles like digital signage and grow our brand assortment to include new prestige vendors," said Cathy Masson, Vice-President Category Management, Shoppers Drug Mart. "We introduced this new concept all while holding true to our principles of knowledgeable and unbiased service in an enjoyable and convenient shopping experience."

In addition to a newly designed beautyBOUTIQUE, the renovated store at Chinook Centre will continue to offer a wide assortment of health, beauty and convenience essentials including the full service pharmacy and a Canada Post outlet.

About Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation

Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation is one of the most recognized and trusted names in Canadian retailing.  The Company is the licensor of full-service retail drug stores operating under the name Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Québec).  With 1,253 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores operating in prime locations in each province and two territories, the Company is one of the most convenient retailers in Canada.  The Company also licenses or owns 59 medical clinic pharmacies operating under the name Shoppers Simply Pharmacy (Pharmaprix Simplement Santé in Québec) and six luxury beauty destinations operating as Murale.  As well, the Company owns and operates 62 Shoppers Home Health Care stores, making it the largest Canadian retailer of home health care products and services.  In addition to its retail store network, the Company owns Shoppers Drug Mart Specialty Health Network Inc., a provider of specialty drug distribution, pharmacy and comprehensive patient support services; and MediSystem Technologies Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical products and services to long-term care facilities. Shoppers Drug Mart is a unique and independent operating division of Loblaw Companies Limited. 

About Loblaw Companies Limited

Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada's food and pharmacy leader, the nation's largest retailer, and the majority unit holder of Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, banking, and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,300 corporate, franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees, and Associate-owners employ approximately 192,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers.

Loblaw's purpose - Live Life Well - puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the Company's stores.  Loblaw is positioned to meet and exceed those needs in many ways: convenient locations; more than 1,050 grocery stores that span the value spectrum from discount to specialty; full-service pharmacies at more than 1,250 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix locations and more than 500 Loblaw locations; no-fee banking with PC Financial; affordable Joe Fresh fashion and family apparel; and three of Canada's top consumer brands in Life Brand®, no name® and President's Choice®. Through the PC Plus™ and Shoppers Optimum® loyalty programs, more than one in every three Canadians are rewarded for shopping with the companies.

For more information, visit Loblaw's website at www.loblaw.ca and Loblaw's issuer profile at www.sedar.com.

Follow beautyBOUTIQUE on Twitter @BeautybySDM

Image with caption: "Shoppers Drug Mart enhanced beautyBOUTIQUE opens at Chinook Centre in Calgary featuring more prestige colour cosmetics, fragrances and skincare for beauty lovers. (CNW Group/Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140828_C2103_PHOTO_EN_4925.jpg

SOURCE: Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation

Lana Gogas, Shoppers Drug Mart, [email protected]