CVS 关闭 900 家门店，大赢家是 Dollar General

CVS is heading in the wrong direction: Traditional pharmacies are on the decline, and America's largest drug store chain plans to close about one in 10 of its outdated locations. One company is particularly primed to take advantage — and it's not Walgreens or Rite Aid.

Dollar General (DG) has rapidly expanded in the United States over the past decade, in large part by undercutting independent and chain drug stores and snatching away some of their shoppers. The discount giant is particularly well-positioned to capitalize on CVS' planned closings.

CVS' announcement comes at a timely moment for Dollar General — exactly as Dollar General tries to "establish itself as a health destination."

Dollar General is launching a health care initiative for the first time, offering customers in what the company calls "health care deserts" in rural America a variety of health services in stores and expanded over-the-counter products. The company sees this market as a major growth area.

Thursday's "news from CVS (CVS) has the potential to accelerate that opportunity," Chuck Grom, a retail analyst at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors, said a note to clients Thursday. CVS' planned closings are a "positive" for Dollar General, he added.

Pharmacies on the decline

CVS pointed to changes in "population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs" for its decision to close stores.

The closings mark the latest contraction of US drug stores in recent years. The sector has been under pressure from shoppers increasingly shifting spending online, as well as to big-box chains, warehouse clubs and dollar stores. Declining reimbursement rates for prescription drugs have also squeezed drug stores' profits.

Nationally, the number of pharmacies has dropped from 62,098 in 2015 to 56,788 in 2019, estimated the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, an advocacy group. This includes chain and independent drug stores, as well as pharmacies in grocery stores and big box stores.

Drug stores have been bleeding market share to Dollar General. The company and analysts say its prices are typically around 40% lower than pharmacies.

Health care at Dollar General

Dollar General has run into opposition from local leaders in many areas of the country who argue that it drives out independent grocery stores and pharmacies and does not sell fresh food at stores — contributing to the health care problem it now says it wants to help solve.

The company in recent years has started to some produce and fresh fruit at stores. Now, Dollar General says adding health care is a way to fill a gap in the market, get customers to spend more when they visit stores and attract new shoppers.

In July, Dollar General announced it hired its first chief medical officer to help develop its health care services and product offerings at stores.

Dollar General also said it planned to increase its store selection of cough and cold, dental, nutritional, health aids and feminine hygiene products. That's a bonus for Dollar General because these items carry higher profit margins than most of what it currently offers: mainly packaged foods, perishables, paper and cleaning products, and personal care items.

Around 65% of Dollar General's stores — more than 10,000 locations — are in health and medical "deserts," where people have to drive 30 or 40 minutes to get basic services, CEO Todd Vasos said in September.

Health care "could be a really big deal" for Dollar General, said Vasos, who is a former drug store chain executive.

Dollar General will not put pharmacies in its stores, he said, but it's exploring options such as offering eye exams, telemedicine and prescription drug pickups.

He even suggested Dollar General might benefit from partnering with independent pharmacies on its health push.

CVS 关闭 900 家门店，大赢家是 Dollar General

CVS 正朝着错误的方向前进：传统药店正在衰落，美国最大的连锁药店计划关闭大约十分之一的过时门店。一家公司特别准备好利用这一点——它不是 Walgreens 或 Rite Aid。

过去十年中，Dollar General (DG) 在美国迅速扩张，主要是通过削弱独立和连锁药店并抢走一些购物者。这家折扣巨头特别有能力利用 CVS 的计划关闭。

CVS 的宣布对 Dollar General 来说恰逢其时——正如 Dollar General 试图“将自己打造成一个健康目的地”。

Dollar General 首次推出了一项医疗保健计划，在该公司所谓的美国农村“医疗沙漠”中为顾客提供商店中的各种医疗服务，并扩大了非处方产品。该公司将这个市场视为一个主要的增长领域。

Gordon Haskett Research Advisors 的零售分析师 Chuck Grom 周四在给客户的一份报告中表示，周四“来自 CVS (CVS) 的消息有可能加速这一机会”。他补充说，CVS 计划的关闭对 Dollar General 来说是“积极的”。

药店在走下坡路

CVS 指出关闭商店的决定在“人口、消费者购买模式和未来的健康需求”方面发生了变化。

关闭标志着美国药店近年来的最新收缩。该行业一直面临着购物者越来越多地将支出转移到网上以及大型连锁店、仓储俱乐部和一元店的压力。处方药报销率下降也挤压了药店的利润。

据倡导组织全国连锁药店协会估计，在全国范围内，药房的数量已从 2015 年的 62,098 家下降到 2019 年的 56,788 家。这包括连锁药店和独立药店，以及杂货店和大卖场的药店。

药店的市场份额一直在向 Dollar General 流失。该公司和分析师表示，其价格通常比药店低 40% 左右。

Dollar General 的医疗保健

Dollar General 遭到该国许多地区的地方领导人的​​反对，他们认为它驱逐了独立的杂货店和药店，并且不在商店出售新鲜食品——这导致了它现在表示希望帮助解决的医疗保健问题。

该公司近年来已开始在商店生产和新鲜水果。现在，Dollar General 表示，增加医疗保健是一种填补市场空白、让顾客在光顾商店时花更多钱并吸引新购物者的一种方式。

7 月，Dollar General 宣布聘请其第一位首席医疗官来帮助开发其商店的医疗保健服务和产品。

Dollar General 还表示，计划增加其商店选择的咳嗽和感冒、牙科、营养品、保健品和女性卫生用品。这对 Dollar General 来说是一个奖励，因为这些商品的利润率高于它目前提供的大部分商品：主要是包装食品、易腐烂的、纸张和清洁产品以及个人护理用品。

首席执行官托德·瓦索斯 (Todd Vasos) 在 9 月份表示，Dollar General 大约 65% 的商店——超过 10,000 个地点——位于健康和医疗“沙漠”中，人们必须开车 30 或 40 分钟才能获得基本服务。

前药店连锁店高管瓦索斯说，医疗保健对 Dollar General 来说“可能是一件非常重要的事情”。

他说，Dollar General 不会在其商店开设药店，但正在探索提供眼科检查、远程医疗和处方药取货等选项。

他甚至建议 Dollar General 可能会从与独立药店合作推动其健康发展中受益。