Auburn already has 11 retail pharmacies and at the end of April, a Walgreens will open on Grant Avenue. And drug stores have been sprouting up in Skaneateles, Moravia and throughout the region.
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
At the end of April, Walgreens will open its first Auburn store on Grant Avenue across the street from an Eckerd drug store that opened in 2004. Auburn now has more drug stores than it did 10 years ago.
At the end of April, Walgreens will open its first Auburn store on Grant Avenue across the street from an Eckerd drug store that opened in 2004. Auburn now has more drug stores than it did 10 years ago.
“People may ask, ‘Why do we need another drug store?'” said Guy Hart Jr., developer with HDL Properties LLC, the commercial developer for the Walgreen's site. “Well, why do we need another restaurant? Because more people are eating out than ever before. It makes sense when you think about it.”
National pharmacy chain growth has been spurred by the booming market for prescription drugs. While there are fewer total pharmacies in the U.S., largely because lower prescription drug reimbursement rates caused many independent pharmacies to close, Auburn has more pharmacies than 10 years ago.
According to figures from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, prescription sales went from $2 billion in 1994 to $3.3 billion in 2004, not adjusting for inflation.
Laura Miller, senior economist with NACDS, said prescription drugs sales have been increasing at a rate of 12 percent a year, in part because more people are turning to prescription drugs as preventative medicine and because of the aging baby boomer generation.
As people are living longer and get older, they're more likely to use some type or prescription drug. People age 25 to 34, for instance, average 4 1/2 prescriptions a year, while people 75 or older average 29 prescriptions a year.
“You have this very large demographic group that's getting older,” Miller said. “There's this big demand for prescription drugs.”
Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreens, said the chain is in expansion mode, opening a new store somewhere in the country every 20 hours. The chain, she said, is expanding rapidly in anticipation of demand in 5 to 10 years.
“A very large percentage of people are aging and using more prescription drugs,” Hively said. “We want to have those stores in place. We're looking ahead to when (the baby boomers are) 70, 80.”
Like other drug store chains, while Walgreens also sells other retail items, 63 percent of its total sales come from prescription drug sales, making that the primary business of the chain.
With the increasing number of chain drug stores in the city, such as the new Walgreens or the two Kinney Drug stores that opened a few years ago, it's not surprising that the stores are beginning to locate essentially in each other's backyards. At least that's the case with the Walgreen's, which will open directly across the street from an Eckerd Drug.
Hart said the close proximity will be beneficial to customers.
“The benefits to the construction of two like businesses approximate to one another (to the customer) is those two business will compete,” he said. “They lower their prices as a way to entice customers to shop at their store.”
As far as why Walgreen's would locate across the store from another chain, Hively said it's primarily because all the chain drug stores are looking for the same qualities when scouting out potential locations.
Chain drug stores, she said, tend to locate on corners of busy intersections, where there is a lot of visibility.
Walgreens looks to locate along commuter routes to attract customers returning from work who may see the store and decide on impulse to purchase an item like a gallon of milk at the drug store rather than during a trip to the grocery store.
“Other drugstores are looking for the same sort of locations,” Hively said.
Miller said there are some locations that are attractive to everyone - a corner location at a busy intersection is ideal.
Richard Pinckney, the pharmacist at RX City, one of two independent pharmacies in the city, said with the aging of the baby boomer population, the pharmacy business was not lacking in customers. As an independent having to contend with decreasing prescription drug reimbursement rates, Pinckney relies on a high volume of customers to keep his business afloat - but having more chains in the city hasn't taken away from that yet.
“I don't think any chain pharmacy provides the level of service that an independent does,” he said.
Since the market for prescription drugs is only increasing, the customers are not lacking.
Having a new drug store in town, Pinckney, would probably not hurt anyone drastically.
“Each pharmacy is going to be doing a little less,” he said.
That said, he's not thrilled at the prospect of another big-box chain dotting the city's landscape.
“It's not necessarily necessary,” he said. “We have them all over the place here.”
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
National pharmacy chain growth has been spurred by the booming market for prescription drugs. While there are fewer total pharmacies in the U.S., largely because lower prescription drug reimbursement rates caused many independent pharmacies to close, Auburn has more pharmacies than 10 years ago.
According to figures from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, prescription sales went from $2 billion in 1994 to $3.3 billion in 2004, not adjusting for inflation.
Laura Miller, senior economist with NACDS, said prescription drugs sales have been increasing at a rate of 12 percent a year, in part because more people are turning to prescription drugs as preventative medicine and because of the aging baby boomer generation.
As people are living longer and get older, they're more likely to use some type or prescription drug. People age 25 to 34, for instance, average 4 1/2 prescriptions a year, while people 75 or older average 29 prescriptions a year.
“You have this very large demographic group that's getting older,” Miller said. “There's this big demand for prescription drugs.”
Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreens, said the chain is in expansion mode, opening a new store somewhere in the country every 20 hours. The chain, she said, is expanding rapidly in anticipation of demand in 5 to 10 years.
“A very large percentage of people are aging and using more prescription drugs,” Hively said. “We want to have those stores in place. We're looking ahead to when (the baby boomers are) 70, 80.”
Like other drug store chains, while Walgreens also sells other retail items, 63 percent of its total sales come from prescription drug sales, making that the primary business of the chain.
With the increasing number of chain drug stores in the city, such as the new Walgreens or the two Kinney Drug stores that opened a few years ago, it's not surprising that the stores are beginning to locate essentially in each other's backyards. At least that's the case with the Walgreen's, which will open directly across the street from an Eckerd Drug.
Hart said the close proximity will be beneficial to customers.
“The benefits to the construction of two like businesses approximate to one another (to the customer) is those two business will compete,” he said. “They lower their prices as a way to entice customers to shop at their store.”
As far as why Walgreen's would locate across the store from another chain, Hively said it's primarily because all the chain drug stores are looking for the same qualities when scouting out potential locations.
Chain drug stores, she said, tend to locate on corners of busy intersections, where there is a lot of visibility.
Walgreens looks to locate along commuter routes to attract customers returning from work who may see the store and decide on impulse to purchase an item like a gallon of milk at the drug store rather than during a trip to the grocery store.
“Other drugstores are looking for the same sort of locations,” Hively said.
Miller said there are some locations that are attractive to everyone - a corner location at a busy intersection is ideal.
Richard Pinckney, the pharmacist at RX City, one of two independent pharmacies in the city, said with the aging of the baby boomer population, the pharmacy business was not lacking in customers. As an independent having to contend with decreasing prescription drug reimbursement rates, Pinckney relies on a high volume of customers to keep his business afloat - but having more chains in the city hasn't taken away from that yet.
“I don't think any chain pharmacy provides the level of service that an independent does,” he said.
Since the market for prescription drugs is only increasing, the customers are not lacking.
Having a new drug store in town, Pinckney, would probably not hurt anyone drastically.
“Each pharmacy is going to be doing a little less,” he said.
That said, he's not thrilled at the prospect of another big-box chain dotting the city's landscape.
“It's not necessarily necessary,” he said. “We have them all over the place here.”
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
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