Walgreens, CVS remain dominant

Chain Drug Review, Oct 11, 2004

NEW YORK -- It does not have the most stores, but Walgreen Co. has a resounding lead in top market shares.

Walgreens has the No. 1 share in 40 of the 100 largest drug store markets in the country. CVS Corp., which has several hundred more stores than Walgreens, has the leading share in 27 of the top markets.

If just the top 15 markets are considered, however, the competition between CVS and Walgreens is a dead heat. Both have the first-place share in seven markets, with Albertsons Inc. leading in No. 2 Los Angeles/ Long Beach/Santa Ana.

Longs Drug Stores, a dominant player in many areas of California and the only drug chain in Hawaii, is in first place in 11 of the top 100 markets. Rite Aid Corp. is No. 1 in 10. But three of those 10--Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif., Baltimore/Towson and Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue--are among the biggest 20 markets in the country.

Newly emergent in the market share wars is Brooks Pharmacy, which has the leading share in eight markets as a result of the Jean Coutu Group's acquisition of 1,539 Eckerd stores in 13 states. Brooks is No. 1 in markets from Pittsburgh to Pensacola, Fla.

Among regional players, Marc's is in first place in Akron, Ohio, where it has a one-point lead over CVS, and six points ahead of Walgreens. Marc's is also clinging to the top spot by one point in Canton/Massillon, Ohio.

For its part Happy Harry's Inc. trails CVS by just two points in Philadelphia/Camden, N.J./Wilmington, Del., the fourth-largest market nationwide. And with its acquisition of May's Drug Stores and Med-X, USA Drug has the lead in greater Tulsa, Okla.

Still, the national dominance of Walgreens and CVS is evident. One or both of the chains holds a leading share in every top 100 market with the exception of Honolulu and Syracuse, N.Y.

In compiling the percentages for the charts on this page and on page 56 the total volume of all drug stores in a market was considered, as was the pharmacy and H&BA volume of local supermarkets and discounters. In general the average store volume for individual drug chains was used to compile figures for the various chains. Market share is for metropolitan areas. Source: Racher Press research.