CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Alpha8472
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

I have seen two CVS stores across the street from each other in California. CVS kept these stores open because CVS did not want a Walgreens to take over the location and compete. A few months ago one of the CVS stores was replaced by a new stores built down the street. There are 2 CVS stores in that area of the city. I believe that CVS still owns or leases the vacant CVS store in order to keep it from the clutches of Walgreens.

CVS is a very stingy company and they have a serious problem with understaffing. They do not have enough employees to staff their pharmacies and this leads to stressed out employees and dangerous medication errors. Wait times can be very long even to get your phone call answered. I briefly did an internship at CVS and it was awful. The stress level was enough to make you want to tear your hair out. I never want to work there. Also, they don't pay very well compared to other chain stores and even Walgreens pays more to their employees than CVS.

I feel sorry for Target employees. They will probably suffer lay offs or have their hours cut. CVS loves to save money by understaffing.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by storewanderer »

CVS has kept stores open within 1/2 mile of each other in Reno (Steamboat Pkwy and Damonte Ranch Pkwy) which are both pretty low volume operations.

But CVS did close 3 other stores in this market and did not open 2 stores Longs constructed during the Longs conversions.

I also find it interesting just what CVS will keep open. Such as 1250 West Seventh Street in Reno. No carpet in this one, just a moss green/black Safeway floor from 1970.

Personally I don't think CVS makes much profit on most of these front ends, especially in locations that are near a Target (since that means there are probably also other stores nearby). They may well be better off from a profit standpoint closing their own stores and just operating inside Targets where that is an option.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

Target was also losing money with their $4 and $10 prescriptions. There is a list of $4 and $10 prescriptions at Target and that loses quite a bit of money. Supposedly, attracting people to the pharmacy with $4 prescriptions would make people buy more in the store. However, many people just use the Target Pharmacy for $4 medicines and buy nothing else.

CVS will obviously get rid of the $4 medicines. The only other big chain that still does the $4 medicines is Walmart and even Walmart has been dropping medicines from the $4 list. The loss is just too great on some medicines to keep offering them for only $4. What you see is low income people and even well to do people flocking to Target to exploit the $4 medication list. Other pharmacies have tried to copy the $4 medication list, but they stopped after realizing what a money loser it was. Even Costco does not have a $4 medication list. Costco sells at wholesale prices and even Target beats Costco on many $4 medicines. That $4 list has been around for years and it has not increased with inflation. It is a loss leader.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by CalItalian »

Kroger chains also do $4/$10 generics... https://www.kroger.com/topic/save-on-ge ... scriptions
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

It's true that Kroger offers $4 and $10 medications, but Kroger customers have higher incomes and tend to have private insurance which pays much more to the pharmacy for medications. Therefore Kroger pharmacies are profitable. Target has more lower income patients that pay with Medicaid insurance and that leads to losses in Target pharmacies. Kroger loses some money on $4 and $10 medications, but makes up for it by the profit from those private insurance customers.

CVS knows how to run profitable pharmacies, by refusing to take unprofitable insurance plans such as Blue Cross Medi-Cal or various poorly funded county/city Medicaid plans.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by BillyGr »

CalItalian wrote:Kroger chains also do $4/$10 generics... https://www.kroger.com/topic/save-on-ge ... scriptions
As do a couple chains in this area - Hannaford has the Healthy Saver Plus plan (which does charge a $7 fee annually, or at least is supposed to) and Price Chopper does as well, including some diabetes items free (medicines, monitor, insulin administering supplies) plus the testing strips for $14.99 (which sounds fairly good for those).
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by CalItalian »

Alpha8472 wrote:It's true that Kroger offers $4 and $10 medications, but Kroger customers have higher incomes and tend to have private insurance which pays much more to the pharmacy for medications. Therefore Kroger pharmacies are profitable. Target has more lower income patients that pay with Medicaid insurance and that leads to losses in Target pharmacies. Kroger loses some money on $4 and $10 medications, but makes up for it by the profit from those private insurance customers.

CVS knows how to run profitable pharmacies, by refusing to take unprofitable insurance plans such as Blue Cross Medi-Cal or various poorly funded county/city Medicaid plans.
Kroger owns Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Southern California (and Foods Co. in Central & Northern California). They have stores in ALL the lower income areas...and they have pharmacies.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by Alpha8472 »

Kroger actually knows how to make a profit on pharmacies. Kroger knows that the real money comes from pushing MTM, vaccinations, and other profitable services. Target does not pressure customers nearly as much as Kroger. In addition, Kroger managed to get better deals with drug suppliers. MTM is very profitable for pharmacies and Target doesn't make their pharmacist do that. MTM is where a pharmacy gets tons of money if a pharmacist gives a huge and long medication therapy management consultation. It takes a long time and practically it consists of a pharmacist getting a patient to bring in all of their meds and goes over their medication adherence. It takes a long time (up to 45 minutes), but the pharmacy gets paid a ton of money. I was at Walgreens once and I was asked 3 times if I wanted a vaccination. It was really annoying, but Walgreens knows that the profit from 1 vaccination, would equal probably filling 10 prescriptions. Every time a customer calls a pharmacy, the pharmacy employee should ask the customer right away if they need vaccinations. That is how the pharmacy needs to push vaccinations in order to make a profit. From a customer standpoint, this is annoying, but that is what it takes to make a profit.

Target doesn't know to make their pharmacies profitable. It is all about mismanagement on Target's part. Kroger manages to run things well.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by Super S »

Haven't been inside yet, but noticed that my local Target has installed the CVS signage outside. Seems weird seeing that on a Target building, but I guess not much different than Sav-On signage on Albertsons.
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Re: CVS to purchase Target Pharmacy & Clinic operations

Post by kr.abs.swy »

Our Target has the CVS sign on the exterior and interior of the building. Inside, they painted the walls around the pharmacy white. There are some CVS brand products behind the counter, but the store brands outside of the pharmacy seem to all still be Target brands. This particular Target happens to essentially be across the street from a free-standing CVS.

The rewards program switched over to CVS's, but you can still use a Target gift card at the pharmacy.
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