When a Kinney Drugs opened in Skaneateles in 2004, it didn't need to look far to see its biggest rival.

The new store opened next door to a CVS Pharmacy, which was already located across the street from a P&C Foods grocery store complete with a pharmacy.

Today, both drug stores are healthy and thriving, according to the companies.

“That's very common in our industry that drug stores operate in close proximity to one another,” said Mike DeAngelis, corporate communications manager for CVS. “It's not as though we're looking to move next to a competitor, it's that we're looking for the same real estate qualities.”

The drug store clustering is similar to a trend 10 or 15 years ago when fast food restaurants began positioning themselves in the same sought-after areas, he said.

While CVS doesn't release information about sales, DeAngelis said if the store wasn't doing well, it wouldn't be open.

The Kinney Drug moved in as a result of a request by the community, said Dave Warner, vice president of pharmacy operations for the company.

“They said they didn't have a full-fledged, traditional pharmacy,” Warner said. “It seemed like a very good community for Kinney.”

Since the location, along Fennell Street, is where a lot of retail shopping takes place in Skaneateles, Warner said it made the most sense for Kinney to locate there.

So far, he said, the decision has paid off.

“It met our expectations for a community of that size,” Warner said. “So far, so good.”

Auburn will soon have its own drug store cluster, when the new Walgreens opens across the street from an Eckerd Drug Store along Grant Avenue at the end of April.

Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreens, echoed sentiments of others saying that drug store chains tend to locate in the same areas because they're looking for the same qualities.

She added, however, that the clustering would only benefit customers as the close proximity would create more competition, and lower prices, for customers who tend to flock to stores offering the best deals.

Lori White of Port Byron is testament to that theory.

White, who was shopping at the Eckerd along Grant Avenue, said she didn't believe Auburn needed another drug store - especially one directly across the street - but added that if the new Walgreens offered the best deals, she would go there.

Already she splits her shopping between Wal-Mart, grocery chains and drug store chains in the area depending on who's offering the lowest prices.

“I'll shop where there's sales,” White said.

Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net