He specializes in sales to 3,000 independent drugstores in seven Northeastern states.

Coty products were being marketed to franchised accounts, including distributors, independent drugstores, mass merchandisers, and department stores.

Yet some independent drugstores are fighting back, trying to find new ways to capitalize on their traditional strengths of customer service and personal interaction.

In Monroe, all of the independent drugstores are gone.

Fans of independent drugstores say they like the personal touch at a small store with a family feel.

But the hardest hit are independent drugstores, which lack the big chains' ability to demand discounted wholesale prices on generic and over-the-counter drugs.

Small independent drugstores, the study found, were more likely to offer labels in Spanish, as were those in neighborhoods where the language was most common.

Prices can vary greatly among chain stores, independent drugstores, mail-order companies and online pharmacies.

Reses, in many ways, is representative of the large independent drugstore.

But to date, alliances among independent and chain drugstores have won only grudging concessions from the manufacturers.