Walgreens Superstore In Philadelphia Closing

[Alpha8472]

The 26,000 square foot downtown Walgreens in Philadelphia will close in February. This store replaced an abandoned Borders Books. This store opened up with a larger than normal selection of prepared foods. It was a step above the regular Walgreens.

[storewanderer]

The 26,000 square foot downtown Walgreens in Philadelphia will close in February. This store replaced an abandoned Borders Books. This store opened up with a larger than normal selection of prepared foods. It was a step above the regular Walgreens.

These larger stores probably just didn't make money. There was/is a nice large one in Downtown San Francisco too and I think that one had pretty good traffic. With the focus entirely on pharmacy at this point for the drugstore chains, these large stores that were trying to do so much more than pharmacy clearly were not a great effort. They could try to up their game in prepared foods but there are so many other places within a few blocks selling prepared foods. They could try to up their game in cosmetics- same thing, other places nearby doing that. In the end you have a real nice looking store that is selling the usual cold medicine, bottled water, candy, and toothbrush as the other downtown type stores that are much smaller.

[veteran+]

The 26,000 square foot downtown Walgreens in Philadelphia will close in February. This store replaced an abandoned Borders Books. This store opened up with a larger than normal selection of prepared foods. It was a step above the regular Walgreens.

I believe a former Fresh & Easy executive (fired for inappropriate sexual behavior) was behind that "fresh" expansion (especially in a large one like that one).

[buckguy]

The 26,000 square foot downtown Walgreens in Philadelphia will close in February. This store replaced an abandoned Borders Books. This store opened up with a larger than normal selection of prepared foods. It was a step above the regular Walgreens.

They have a very large two level store in DC, which replaced a Barnes and Noble. No prepared foods, but it’s never done much business. CVS very aggressive opened stores downtown at the same time. At least one has closed, but I’d imagine that made it difficult for Walgreen.

[luckysaver]

The other superstore of this format is the Hollywood CA store (I think it opened in 2016 - I visited that store the month it opened). This format is super colorful and was more of a glorified 7-Eleven type than a typical Walgreens and like the Philly store, emphasized convenience grocery/prepared foods rather than OTCs, the pharmacy, and cosmetics. The company's press release called it a west coast flagship and that future store remodels would take on this format.

The Hollywood store made national headlines infamously a couple of years ago when a security guard assigned to that store shot and killed unarmed person and the guard was later charged with murder by LA County prosecutors.

luckysaver

[veteran+]

The other superstore of this format is the Hollywood CA store (I think it opened in 2016 - I visited that store the month it opened). This format is super colorful and was more of a glorified 7-Eleven type than a typical Walgreens and like the Philly store, emphasized convenience grocery/prepared foods rather than OTCs, the pharmacy, and cosmetics. The company's press release called it a west coast flagship and that future store remodels would take on this format.

The Hollywood store made national headlines infamously a couple of years ago when a security guard assigned to that store shot and killed unarmed person and the guard was later charged with murder by LA County prosecutors.

luckysaver

I thought I saw a "closing soon" sign on that store?

[ClownLoach]

The other superstore of this format is the Hollywood CA store (I think it opened in 2016 - I visited that store the month it opened). This format is super colorful and was more of a glorified 7-Eleven type than a typical Walgreens and like the Philly store, emphasized convenience grocery/prepared foods rather than OTCs, the pharmacy, and cosmetics. The company's press release called it a west coast flagship and that future store remodels would take on this format.

The Hollywood store made national headlines infamously a couple of years ago when a security guard assigned to that store shot and killed unarmed person and the guard was later charged with murder by LA County prosecutors.

luckysaver

I thought I saw a "closing soon" sign on that store?

Yelp reviews say it's closing and begging Walgreens to reconsider. This store got national attention when it opened including this article on Time magazine. They were going to put one of these at Harbor and Katella next to Disneyland, but it was scaled down to a regular store when it finally opened. The other flagship style Walgreens I was aware of are at the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip and last time I was there they had cut back the fancy stuff and it was mostly liquor and souvenirs.

https://business.time.com/2013/01/14/wh ... rugstores/

[storewanderer]

The biggest problem is these stores were designed to be in places with high tourist traffic and high business traffic. They are/were flagship stores. Probably not designed to make money but more of a brand image type of situation. Despite reports that tourist traffic is up I am wondering if it is up in the dense city type locations these flagship stores are in, or up in other locations that are more remote/outdoor focused.

Add to that problem that fewer people are working in offices surrounding the stores and yet another lifeline of customers is being cut off.

I am not surprised these stores are closing. The one in San Francisco at 135 Powell however is still standing and still has decent foot traffic. It is no longer 24 hours, now closing at 11 PM.

[jamcool]

Some of us remember when most Walgreens stores were big..ours had gardening depts, sold sporting goods, cameras and small electrics, a tobacco dept, and the soda fountain/coffee shop. Most were either downtown or in malls.

[rwsandiego]

Some of us remember when most Walgreens stores were big..ours had gardening depts, sold sporting goods, cameras and small electrics, a tobacco dept, and the soda fountain/coffee shop. Most were either downtown or in malls.

In Chicago, there were still large Walgreens stores located on neighborhood streets as recently as the 1970s and 19080s. Now, they are standalone buildings with parking lots, except in the Loop and some locations near the lakefront. As you said, they sold a little bit of everything.

The current Walgreens flagship in downtown Chicago (State and Randolph) is located where a two- or three-level Walgreens once stood before it was torn down to make way for the current building. In addition to Walgreens, the Joffrey Ballet has its office and rehearsal space in the current building and I believe apartments and condos. The old store had a cafeteria and liquor store in the basement, cameras, toys, jewelry, full cosmetics, and other extended general merchandise on the two upper floors. It was quite a store.

Pre-pandemic the current store did a brisk business with tourists, office workers, and residents of the nearby apartments and condos. It is the closest thing to a grocery store for blocks. Unless the "Doral Market" at Michigan and Randolph is still there, the next-closest is the Mariano's in Illinois Center (east of Michigan and north of Randolph).