Assured Natural Distribution is pleased to announce that it has acquired Alpha Health Products. This is an esteemed addition to the product lines currently distributed by Assured Natural, enhancing their present impressive line-up.
Alpha Health Products was founded in 1964 by natural health pioneer Siegfried Gursche and his wife Christel. It operated until 2005 under the name Teldon of Canada Ltd. The name Siegfried is synonymous with the natural health industry in Canada, having been a well-respected and loved member of the health food community. His son, Chris Gursche, carried on the Alpha Health legacy and is now passing the torch to Assured Natural Distribution.
These world-class and naturally nutritious products will continue to be produced by ethical practices that promote fair trade and environmental sustainability—hallmarks of the Gursche family passion and that of Assured Natural. In keeping with Assured Natural’s commitment to the natural health industry, these products will be exclusively distributed to traditional natural food stores and specialty pharmacies only.
As part of the Assured Natural team, Preferred Nutrition customer service, sales and marketing will be handling the Alpha line at store level.
To purchase Alpha products call – 888-826-9625 or contact your Preferred Nutrition account manager.

Preferred Nutrition products will be distributed by Assured Natural Distribution as of June 1, 2016. This new relationship fits well with Assured’s “exclusive products and commitment” to traditional natural food stores and specialty pharmacies.

Preferred Nutrition was founded in 2002 with a commitment to supporting the natural health industry. Founder Deane Parkes’ passion for natural health began 40 years ago. In that time his passion has grown as well as his vision to connect with experts to provide natural solutions to consumers through traditional natural food store and specialty pharmacy only products.
The Preferred Nutrition and Assured Natural alliance will strengthen and continue this commitment to the natural health industry.

Last week, Galen G. Weston—the president and executive chairman of Loblaw—announced that his pharmacies want in on the medical marijuana business.

Primarily, Weston argued that pharmacists are well positioned to dispense the drug in a safe manner.

“We’re an industry that is extremely effective at managing controlled substances,” he said. “It gives pharmacists the opportunity to work directly in real time with patients as opposed to doing it through the mail, working on their doses and making sure it actually has the therapeutic effect that it is intended to have.”

According to Weston, while the current mail system—in which patients receive the drug from a licensed producer—does not present any “safety or credibility” issues, patients would be able to experience more consultation if dispensing was done face-to-face.

With this stance, Loblaw supports the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPA) in its efforts to make marijuana more accessible. Last month, the CPA expressed its growing concerns over the use of medical marijuana without pharmacies playing a “front-line role” in patient access.

If granted permission from Ottawa, Loblaw would consider dispensing medical cannabis in all forms at their Shoppers Drug Mart and grocery pharmacy locations.

Currently, under Health Canada’s rules, patients may only buy medical marijuana from licensed producers and are no longer permitted to grow their own—something they were able to do prior to 2013. However, following a B.C. court’s striking down of this law as “unconstitutional,” Ottawa is looking at making changes to these regulations and expects to come to a decision in August.

The Liberal government has also committed to the eventual legalization of recreational marijuana use. Despite this, noted Weston, Loblaw is focused only on the distribution of marijuana for medical use at this time.

McKesson Canada will be making a $25,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross through the McKesson Foundation to aid victims of the wildfires in Northern Alberta. In Addition, they will match employee donations up to a maximum of $2,500 per employee.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Fort McMurray and Northern Alberta,” said Alain Champagne, President of McKesson Canada. “Alberta is an important hub in our network and is home to three of our distribution centres. Close to 300 of our employees live and work in the Greater Edmonton Area. We hope our support will assist individuals and families impacted by this situation.”
McKesson Canada’s independently owned retail banner pharmacies are also coordinating the delivery of relief supplies to impacted communities.
Updates are available via each banner’s consumer websites and Facebook pages.

“In neighbourhoods across Alberta, pharmacists provide care to those in need every day. I am proud of our local pharmacist owners who continue to demonstrate their commitment to caring during this time; they are pillars of our community,” said Richard Brennan, Senior Vice President, Retail Banner Services, McKesson Canada.

Canadians can make a donation to the Alberta Fire Appeal to support the Canadian Red Cross response efforts.

The support and generosity of its customers across Canada, combined with contributions from Home Office, Giant Tiger Stores Limited has raised over $100,000 to date for the Fort McMurray relief efforts. Fundraising started Thursday, May 5, and will continue as needed. Customers can round their receipt up to the nearest dollar at participating Giant Tiger stores. Funds will be donatred to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal.
“Our thoughts are with individuals and families in Fort McMurray and northern Alberta whose lives have been touched by this disaster and we hope for the continued safety of everyone in the community,” said Thomas Haig, President and COO, Giant Tiger. “The support we have received from customers and store owners from across the country as well as Home Office is tremendous and we thank everyone for their generosity in this time of need. It is our sincere hope that these contributions will help those affected by the wildfire both now and during their recovery.”
To help Giant Tiger raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal and local community aid initiatives, please visit your local participating store.

PayPal Canada has become the latest player to offer free returns, now providing up to 10 refunds a year—or up to $300 annually—on online shipping costs. The company plans to offset the extra cost of doing so with increased e-commerce business.

This comes as a response to the growing number of cyber merchants attempting to keep pace with industry powerhouse Amazon.com Inc., especially with its growing supplement business, which does offer free returns. While relaxing return policies could come with higher expenses, online retailers are becoming more and more willing to due so in order to compete.

PayPal Canada notes that its choice to offer free returns is a bid to make customers even more comfortable with e-commerce transactions.

“People are generally worried about shopping online because they don’t quite feel comfortable with the return process,” says Kerry Reynolds, head of consumer marketing at PayPal Canada. “For us, [free] return shipping is a competitive differentiator… It’s one of those things that’s in line with our strategy of removing those barriers for people to buy online.”

According PayPal’s 2015 research, high return shipping costs discourage more than half of online shoppers globally from making repeat purchases. Reynolds notes that because of this, PayPal has introduced free return shipping in 40 countries over the past year, resulting in a “steep incline” in the number of people subscribing to the service.

“Shipping costs, in general, have always been a pain point for Canadians,” she concludes. “It’s adding that extra level of confidence to people who are shopping online.”

However, while free returns offer consumers comfort, they can hurt retailers’ ability to resell product—returned items can’t always be resold at full price, depending on their condition and timing of the return. As such, Antony Karabus, CEO of retail consultancy HRC Advisory, notes that to avoid these issues, retailers can tighten policies on when—and in what condition—products can be returned for full refunds. Moreover, he suggests that retailers consider creating a subscription charge or high purchase threshold for shoppers to qualify for free shipping.