April 9, 2008
Walgreens Coming to Huntington
Look Out CVS, Rite Aid and Fruth
By Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net City Editor
Great news for Huntington might not be so appreciated by its soon-to-be competitors, but there it is. Walgreens, the nation's number-one pharmacy chain, has finally decided to bring its top-of the-list drug stores to our market. The store's 'look', when built on the corner of First Street and Fourth Avenue in May, will be familiar to anyone who's visited Florida, as they're everywhere in the Sunshine State.
CVS and Rite Aid, the number two and three chains nationally, have been opening new stores in Huntington for awhile, in the time-honored, turf-battle, market-share grabbing style that marks the competitive nature of drug store companies business models. Both are vying for the prescription drug, assorted grocery and miscellaneous items needs of Huntingtonians by trying to outdo the other with newer stores, more selection and cheaper prices.
The Walgreen Company is a force to be reckoned with in that game, as CVS is all too aware. It also has a new card up its sleeve.
In select Walgreens stores is a walk-in health clinic called Take Care. Take Care Health Systems, a company based in Conshohocken, Pa., operates them and they're staffed by nurse practitioners, are open seven days a week and no appointments are needed. No word yet on whether Huntington's first Walgreens will have one, but there's reason to believe we fit the target market demographic for them.
The Walgreen Company has more than $53 billion in annual revenue and more than 6,100 stores, and when it finds a market it likes -much like what happens in banking- new stores start popping up all over, usually right in their competitor's faces. The new Walgreens-Huntington follows that trend. Within a few blocks of its planned construction are two other drug stores: Rite Aid and Fruth.
On the Southeast coast of Florida when Walgreens main competition was once the JC Penny-owned Eckerd drug store chain, this reporter knows of an apartment building owner whose property was right across the street from the site of a planned Eckerd store. She reported that Walgreens representatives were very insistent that she sell them her property so they could put a Walgreens in the same location. Last I heard, she wasn't selling, but I don't doubt Walgreens found a suitable spot nearby.
In 2004 CVS bought out the Eckerd chain and upped the ante in its competition with Walgreens.
Martina Bills of WOWK-TV has reported that the Huntington Walgreens will be located where an apartment building complex here now stands. According to her report for West Virginia Media, the site where the four buildings of the Huntington Apartments now stand is ground zero and those buildings are slated for imminent demise. The residents have already moved out, Bills reported.
In Florida, where the trend of drugstore chains and banks beefing up their market share by opening new 'branches' is perhaps the most competitive, for obvious reasons, [Florida has a high percentage of seniors with money who need their meds,] the turf battle also extends to the grocery store arena.
On almost any corner where you see a Winn-Dixie, Publix or Albertsons, you'll also most likely find a Kash -n-Karry. Now that Walgreens has discovered us, can Publix be far behind? Time will tell.
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Look Out CVS, Rite Aid and Fruth
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By Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnews.net City Editor
Great news for Huntington might not be so appreciated by its soon-to-be competitors, but there it is. Walgreens, the nation's number-one pharmacy chain, has finally decided to bring its top-of the-list drug stores to our market. The store's 'look', when built on the corner of First Street and Fourth Avenue in May, will be familiar to anyone who's visited Florida, as they're everywhere in the Sunshine State.
CVS and Rite Aid, the number two and three chains nationally, have been opening new stores in Huntington for awhile, in the time-honored, turf-battle, market-share grabbing style that marks the competitive nature of drug store companies business models. Both are vying for the prescription drug, assorted grocery and miscellaneous items needs of Huntingtonians by trying to outdo the other with newer stores, more selection and cheaper prices.
The Walgreen Company is a force to be reckoned with in that game, as CVS is all too aware. It also has a new card up its sleeve.
In select Walgreens stores is a walk-in health clinic called Take Care. Take Care Health Systems, a company based in Conshohocken, Pa., operates them and they're staffed by nurse practitioners, are open seven days a week and no appointments are needed. No word yet on whether Huntington's first Walgreens will have one, but there's reason to believe we fit the target market demographic for them.
The Walgreen Company has more than $53 billion in annual revenue and more than 6,100 stores, and when it finds a market it likes -much like what happens in banking- new stores start popping up all over, usually right in their competitor's faces. The new Walgreens-Huntington follows that trend. Within a few blocks of its planned construction are two other drug stores: Rite Aid and Fruth.
On the Southeast coast of Florida when Walgreens main competition was once the JC Penny-owned Eckerd drug store chain, this reporter knows of an apartment building owner whose property was right across the street from the site of a planned Eckerd store. She reported that Walgreens representatives were very insistent that she sell them her property so they could put a Walgreens in the same location. Last I heard, she wasn't selling, but I don't doubt Walgreens found a suitable spot nearby.
In 2004 CVS bought out the Eckerd chain and upped the ante in its competition with Walgreens.
Martina Bills of WOWK-TV has reported that the Huntington Walgreens will be located where an apartment building complex here now stands. According to her report for West Virginia Media, the site where the four buildings of the Huntington Apartments now stand is ground zero and those buildings are slated for imminent demise. The residents have already moved out, Bills reported.
In Florida, where the trend of drugstore chains and banks beefing up their market share by opening new 'branches' is perhaps the most competitive, for obvious reasons, [Florida has a high percentage of seniors with money who need their meds,] the turf battle also extends to the grocery store arena.
On almost any corner where you see a Winn-Dixie, Publix or Albertsons, you'll also most likely find a Kash -n-Karry. Now that Walgreens has discovered us, can Publix be far behind? Time will tell.
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
