Rite Aid

HCal
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by HCal »

jamcool wrote: November 3rd, 2021, 2:30 pm Amazon doesn’t want to deal with city licenses and permits and the local criminal class clearing out the stores, like in California
Amazon actually has more physical stores in California than in any other state.

And I doubt obtaining city licenses and permits is a problem for them. If they can negotiate huge tax breaks for distribution centers from state and local agencies, they should have no problem getting the permits needed to open a store.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by ClownLoach »

HCal wrote: November 3rd, 2021, 9:39 pm
jamcool wrote: November 3rd, 2021, 2:30 pm Amazon doesn’t want to deal with city licenses and permits and the local criminal class clearing out the stores, like in California
Amazon actually has more physical stores in California than in any other state.

And I doubt obtaining city licenses and permits is a problem for them. If they can negotiate huge tax breaks for distribution centers from state and local agencies, they should have no problem getting the permits needed to open a store.
California has more Amazon facilities than any other in the US. As far as California taxes and regulations are concerned, Amazon has proven to have mastered cutting California's red tape. They were making a fortune selling in California but not collecting CA tax. All the orders were coming out of Nevada and Arizona and they still turned a profit. Then the deal - they would voluntarily collect CA sales tax - and start building in the state. They figured losing the few customers who were going to quit shopping because of the tax would not offset the shipping cost savings of having CA warehouses and facilities. Thus started the building boom for Amazon and California that led to the booming Inland Empire we see today. The state looked up to Amazon like they were some kind of great savior for the state - voluntarily collecting the taxes other retailers refused to handle - and were welcomed with open arms and rubber stamped building permits. Once Amazon was collecting all that rich California tax money other online retailers begrudgingly followed suit. I'll bet it would be easier to build a Amazon sort or DC facility in places like the Bay Area than it would be for Walmart to get a store approved.

Some of the deliveries were crazy - prior to the tax deal I ordered what at the time was a special item requiring special delivery - a 58" TV. That TV was delivered by a two man Amazon crew out of Goodyear AZ - they started their shift at 3AM to drive to California for their LA area delivery route then drive back at night. Nowadays they would probably hand it to you from one of their blue vans as the packaging is so much smaller today and weight so much lighter.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by buckguy »

CVS managers still seem to have a lot of autonomy. The two 24 hour stores near me have very different selections of things like junk food and seasonal items and it doesn't seem to be a matter of space---one is bigger than the other but the aisle space for those items is about the same. The smaller store is within walking distance of six hotels (one is next door, another is across the street and the others a moment or two further) and clearly marketed for visitors.

Managers and pharmacists also have autonomy for controversial things like offering overdose prevention kits, clean needles & syringes (where they are legal) and what kinds of tests to offer in their Minute Clinics (pregnancy and HIV tests aren't a given). Walgreens has similar policies for the clinics. I would imagine that vaccine programs probably include optional components----they always seem to advertise flu but not necessarily shingles.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by veteran+ »

ClownLoach wrote: November 3rd, 2021, 1:49 pm With all of these chain pharmacies, I believe the critical rule of retail is what dictates the performance: location, location, location.

CVS is consistently dirty and understaffed at nearly every location I have been to in the Orange County area. But then I found a location on Main Street in Orange that is across the street from two hospitals, St. Joseph and Children's Hospital of Orange County. I got my COVID vaccines there because it was the only location with availability of appointments early on and I found out why. The store, which is a smaller format CVS maybe only 15K Sq ft, might have more staff than their entire district combined. It does so much business that they have multiple pharmacists 24 hours a day with at least 6 assistants. They had half the store set as the line queue for COVID vaccines and 4 stations each with a technician or pharmacist administering the vaccine. I wouldn't describe it as sparking clean, but it was reasonable considering the customer traffic. 4 checkout lanes staffed and a good size line. There is no Rite Aid or Walgreens full size store nearby despite the two major hospitals across the street. That one CVS must drive enough profit to keep the lights on at at least a couple dozen marginal stores elsewhere.

I think this same cycle exists around these chains - the lower volume stores run in the red or maybe are just expected to break even - while the higher volume boxes pull the sled.

What is sad is that in the past this would not happen, because the Store Manager of that lower volume community store would also have the autonomy to order for the store, sign local vendors, and adjust the merchandising to meet the needs of the community. But CVS and Walgreens want to run crummy cookie cutter stores and aren't interested in the lowly manager telling them how to run the business. They are accepting of the status quo. Plus now that each major drugstore also owns an insurer the stores aren't even the main profit center for the company but instead are a means to force the customer in the doors. If you have a Caremark prescription plan for example that is CVS and usually you are limited in how many fills you can get at a non CVS location before you are either going to pay significantly more or be denied coverage. So basically the customer is a hostage unless they have top tier insurance that allows them to fill elsewhere. Hence no reason to adequately staff the store, clean the store, etc. They could run a toilet store every day and they are guaranteed business.

Maybe Amazon should stop playing around in the grocery store business, which they clearly have proven they can't figure out, and go attack the drugstore business. There is definitely room for improvement in that industry. Imagine if the manager could order pretty much anything Amazon carries to supplement the assortment for the local community and stock it on the shelves. It wouldn't be like the SavOn stores of the past where the SM literally had the company checkbook and would be paying random vendors every day. If they started with a solid pharmacy operation that customers could trust, maybe add some Amazon technology to ensure safety like some kind of video monitoring that could look at every pill and detect errors before an accident occurs, then build a quality store around it - so both the front end and the pharmacy counter could stand on their own as profitable businesses - they would have something.
Excellent critical analysis!

:idea:
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by veteran+ »

jamcool wrote: November 3rd, 2021, 2:30 pm Amazon doesn’t want to deal with city licenses and permits and the local criminal class clearing out the stores, like in California
And of course no other place in the USA, Except Cali??

:roll:
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by veteran+ »

buckguy wrote: November 4th, 2021, 5:55 am CVS managers still seem to have a lot of autonomy. The two 24 hour stores near me have very different selections of things like junk food and seasonal items and it doesn't seem to be a matter of space---one is bigger than the other but the aisle space for those items is about the same. The smaller store is within walking distance of six hotels (one is next door, another is across the street and the others a moment or two further) and clearly marketed for visitors.

Managers and pharmacists also have autonomy for controversial things like offering overdose prevention kits, clean needles & syringes (where they are legal) and what kinds of tests to offer in their Minute Clinics (pregnancy and HIV tests aren't a given). Walgreens has similar policies for the clinics. I would imagine that vaccine programs probably include optional components----they always seem to advertise flu but not necessarily shingles.
Interesting....................

If they really do, then it is quite telling............................in a negative way.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by storewanderer »

buckguy wrote: November 4th, 2021, 5:55 am CVS managers still seem to have a lot of autonomy. The two 24 hour stores near me have very different selections of things like junk food and seasonal items and it doesn't seem to be a matter of space---one is bigger than the other but the aisle space for those items is about the same. The smaller store is within walking distance of six hotels (one is next door, another is across the street and the others a moment or two further) and clearly marketed for visitors.

Managers and pharmacists also have autonomy for controversial things like offering overdose prevention kits, clean needles & syringes (where they are legal) and what kinds of tests to offer in their Minute Clinics (pregnancy and HIV tests aren't a given). Walgreens has similar policies for the clinics. I would imagine that vaccine programs probably include optional components----they always seem to advertise flu but not necessarily shingles.
They still give some merchandising autonomy in the types of locations you are describing but in the typical suburb/strip mall type location, there is not much autonomy at all. It also seems like CVS has frequent changes in store managers either through attrition or moving around; and pharmacies float between stores often. For instance one CVS I go to often was run by a long term former Sav-On manager for about 5 years and since that person left it has had 3 different store managers in less than a year. There is one CVS I know of that still has the same manager as it had when it was a Longs but any merchandising autonomy there is either not allowed or not being utilized.

As far as the manager and pharmacist discretion on controversial things, that is difficult for customer expectation consistency for a chain to allow that, and with as large as CVS is I am surprised if their official policy really leaves it up for individual employee discretion. I guess until all of the employees are replaced by self serve kiosks this sort of thing will happen. Then the decision will be up to whoever/whatever programs the kiosk. Hopefully the kiosk won't change its opinion based on some facial recognition. Yikes.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by bryceleinan »

I received an email in the last couple of days talking about all the pharmacy hour cuts at Rite Aid in Gardnerville and other towns throughout the area - they’re closing an hour early, no more walk-in vaccinations, and other hours changes. Saw the Dayton and South Reno Smith’s did something very similar, so I’m wondering how bad the RAD and Kroger staffing shortages are compared to other chains.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by storewanderer »

bryceleinan wrote: November 9th, 2021, 9:13 pm I received an email in the last couple of days talking about all the pharmacy hour cuts at Rite Aid in Gardnerville and other towns throughout the area - they’re closing an hour early, no more walk-in vaccinations, and other hours changes. Saw the Dayton and South Reno Smith’s did something very similar, so I’m wondering how bad the RAD and Kroger staffing shortages are compared to other chains.
That e-mail you received does not even reflect the dire reality at the Gardnerville Rite Aid. As of Sunday, their new hours are 10 AM to 6 PM. They will re-evaluate hours based on staffing weekly. They only have 3-4 employees left on the front end. Pharmacy is actually better staffed but I guess you can't open the pharmacy if you can't open the front end. What a dilemma.

Have also observed some store hours cut with random CVS locations in Reno and Carson City. This was by way of handwritten signs when I tried to go into the stores, they were closed or about to close, well before posted times. So far Walgreens seems to keep being open its usual hours...

Dayton is one of the highest volume pharmacies in Kroger, so I am surprised they did not figure out a solution to keep that running. I would think they need to be open normal hours just to get all the prescriptions sold.
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Re: Rite Aid

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: November 9th, 2021, 10:17 pm
bryceleinan wrote: November 9th, 2021, 9:13 pm I received an email in the last couple of days talking about all the pharmacy hour cuts at Rite Aid in Gardnerville and other towns throughout the area - they’re closing an hour early, no more walk-in vaccinations, and other hours changes. Saw the Dayton and South Reno Smith’s did something very similar, so I’m wondering how bad the RAD and Kroger staffing shortages are compared to other chains.
That e-mail you received does not even reflect the dire reality at the Gardnerville Rite Aid. As of Sunday, their new hours are 10 AM to 6 PM. They will re-evaluate hours based on staffing weekly. They only have 3-4 employees left on the front end. Pharmacy is actually better staffed but I guess you can't open the pharmacy if you can't open the front end. What a dilemma.

Have also observed some store hours cut with random CVS locations in Reno and Carson City. This was by way of handwritten signs when I tried to go into the stores, they were closed or about to close, well before posted times. So far Walgreens seems to keep being open its usual hours...

Dayton is one of the highest volume pharmacies in Kroger, so I am surprised they did not figure out a solution to keep that running. I would think they need to be open normal hours just to get all the prescriptions sold.
I’m thinking Rite Aid’s issues are a reflection of the pharmacy industry in general. Dayton Smith’s lost a majority of the pharmacy staff - it’s not unheard of to wait in line 90 mins to pick up a prescription. I wound up transferring elsewhere because they dropped the ball so many times on one of mine.
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