Many drug store chains - Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid are closing stores

[Vash01]

RiteAid has filed for bankruptcy. CVS, Walgreens are closing thousands of stores. Over abundance of drug stores?

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/16/business/drug-stores-closing-rite-aid-cvs-walgreens/index.html

It was very convenient to have a drug store at every corner. I used to go to Target for my prescriptions and shop there at the same time. I need to find out if that location will continue to have the CVS pharmacy.

My grocery store has a pharmacy- not one of the three mentioned here. I better find out if they will continue to be open.

 

[barbk]

When I visited BarbK-daughter in Manhattan about 7 years ago, I asked her if people in NYC were sick ALL THE TIME because there was literally a Duane Reed at almost every intersection. Sometimes even on opposite corners of the same intersection.

 

[Trillian]

I’ve had some peripheral professional interaction with the pharmacy industry over the last decade, and I can’t emphasize enough how much of a shitshow it is. Here’s an article that does a pretty good job of summarizing what happened to all the local pharmacies and why nothing is likely to come along to fill the holes left by the closing chain stores:

How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies - KFF Health News

More than 1,000 independent rural pharmacies have closed since 2003, leaving 630 communities with no retail drugstore. As 41 million people stuck in pharmacy deserts make do, the remaining drugstores struggle to survive.

kffhealthnews.org

 

[Jenny]

When I visited BarbK-daughter in Manhattan about 7 years ago, I asked her if people in NYC were sick ALL THE TIME because there was literally a Duane Reed at almost every intersection. Sometimes even on opposite corners of the same intersection.

If they had twice the cashiers they could have half the locations.

 

[acraven]

I live in Washington DC. There are three CVS stores within 1/2 mile of my apartment. The Safeway supermarket within a few feet of one of those CVSs has a pharmacy counter. There'd probably be more drug stores if you didn't run into water to the west and south not far from my apartment.

Timely prescription refills are a problem. There don't seem to be enough pharmacists to staff the locations.

 

[once_upon]

My ares is filled with Walgreens and CVS. Almost every, if not all, grocery stores have pharmacies (usually associated with CVS). There are at least 3 local chain pharmacy locations near me, at least one of those is dedicated to medical equipment.

Rite Aids seem to have been or are a victim of their own business model, i think. When I think of Rite Aids, I think of a store that sells mostly products like trinkets, toiletries, OTC products not prescriptions. Another thing that has them in trouble seems to be the filling of opiod medications with questionable prescription ordering practices.

With a higher need for pharmacists in hospital settings, more 24 hour pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, more warehouse pharmacy distribution centers - lack of pharmacists and pharmacy techs is growing. I think that also impacted Rite-Aid's ability to stay competitive with salaries as they've been heading towards bankruptcy for years.

Let's not forget the pressure to be a preferred pharmacy status - which generally requires any pharmacy chains/other to negotiate contracts - usually at deep discounts/loss to the chain. Walgreens, CVS can absorb them.

 

[Lizziebeth]

The pressure is on to have everything mail order. I don't want that since my mailbox is unsecured and in an inconvenient place. I also don't want to rent a PO box and drive miles to pick up. Plus the mail comes so damn late here that I would be home before it was delivered

Lots of stuff should not be sitting in frozen temperatures. Hello MN winter!

 

[Private Citizen]

When I visited BarbK-daughter in Manhattan about 7 years ago, I asked her if people in NYC were sick ALL THE TIME because there was literally a Duane Reed at almost every intersection. Sometimes even on opposite corners of the same intersection.

I don't think people are going to these stores for prescriptions. At least I wasn't. I was using CVS, Rite Aid, and sometimes Duane Reade for catch-all shopping: light groceries, non-perishables, household items, etc. I would shop there multiple times per week, often on the way home from work. The prices of items weren't that different from the grocery store, and the wait was usually much less (CVS was the first to have self-checkouts). Plus some of the promotional deals could be quite good.

A number of things have changed:
1. Much better urban grocery stores, including some with much better pricing (Trader Joe's)
2. Amazon (Prime)
3. Target has figured out how to operate in cities, offering much better prices than CVS et al
4. Rampant shoplifting and lack of policing results in more items being locked up, which is a bad customer experience that just drives people to places where the items aren't locked up
5. The pandemic and WFH reducing foot traffic

 

[kedrin]

I've definitely not purchased items because they were locked up- I'm not going to grab someone to open a case so I can get a candy-bar (which I shouldn't be eating anyway!) Also- the local pharmacy often doesn't have the item I'm looking for, and I don't have the time to try seven different stores to find an item. I resisted for a long time, but Amazon delivers right to my door.

 

[sk8pics]

Previous insurance companies I’ve had required mail order after two fills of a prescription that was considered a maintenance one. Now it’s no problem to fill my prescriptions at my local CVS. I checked and my drug insurance plan is still allowing that next year even though they’re switching from CVS Caremark to Express Scripts. With the terrible mail service we have, I was dreading having to order through the mail. But it seems it won’t be necessary. Both my generic Lipitor and Plavix are going to be free for me next year picking up from my local CVS. It’s quite a relief.