Raleys kept the majority of its pharmacies open in Nevada.lake52 wrote: ↑August 12th, 2022, 4:06 pm
You hit the nail on the head here, Kaiser has
40% of the market share in Northern California. You cannot use a retail pharmacy with Kaiser.
Sutter, the second largest health care provider is trying to mimic Kaiser’s in-house pharmacy function via CVS. You also have a population that is young and tech savvy, increasing the likelihood of utilizing online pharmacies.
You have the same amount of competition with half the customer base. Ultimately, the smaller chains are without the corporate backing that a chain like CVS has with Aetna and are more prone to failure.
Reno is a bit more “traditional”, but keeping pharmacies open just in Nevada doesn’t seem worth it either for these mainly Northern California chains.
Raleys closed 4 pharmacies in Nevada:
Reno-South Virginia Street-Food Source- that store is now closed
Reno-Silverada-Sak N Save (Scolaris)- that store is still open.........
Reno-Keystone- that is what looks like an okay performing Raleys but still had the mid 90's interior; the building is very old and very run down. The remodel that is needed, will be very difficult. But it will have to be done, because the store is well positioned (only other competition nearby is a terrible Save Mart, one of the dirtiest and sketchiest stores in town).
Elko
Of the stores where they closed pharmacy, two were the discount format which the chain isn't real interested in at this point. Keystone is a bit of a question mark why it was closed, but it is the lowest income neighborhood Raleys operates in within the Reno area (excluding Sak N Save). Elko I suspect was closed because it was just too far out/difficult to oversee. That closure left Elko in a mess as the only pharmacies in town were CVS, Smiths, and Wal Mart (and a small Walgreens-operated pharmacy at a miner's clinic, no store). Albertsons since added a pharmacy to its Elko Store.
The issue here in Nevada is Save Mart bought Albertsons/Sav-On combo stores. They proceeded to convert 2 to Food Maxx and those did not have pharmacy any longer (one kept pharmacy open for months during conversion then ultimately closed). Of the other locations all had pharmacy, and only one shared a shopping center with a drugstore. Many of them are not exactly in close proximity to a drugstore either. Close, but not exactly convenient.
This move will only further marginalize Save Mart in the Reno market. Save Mart is already not popular here; an efficient and friendly/relaxed pharmacy was one of the few things to like about Save Mart. They run some good ads every now and then, moreso lately than in the past. Bakery/deli are fine but many customers don't seem to be using those departments. Meat/produce are weak. Take that pharmacy connection away, and they don't have much left other than well located but run down stores and higher than average pricing.