Following its recently completed purchase of Kerr Drug, Walgreens announced that it will close 20 of the 76 stores it acquired. According to the company, 16 of the 20 will have their prescription files transferred to nearby Walgreen pharmacies. Walgreens will not require customers to provide any additional information to fill an existing prescription, as the new pharmacies will already have the details on file, the company said. For the remaining four, there was not a nearby Walgreens location and prescriptions will be transferred to other pharmacies.
The highest concentration of stores affected is within the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC core-based statistical area (CBSA) with four, followed by the Greensboro-High Point, NC CBSA with three. Three stores are in smaller areas outside the range of a CBSA.
Kerr Drug Closings*
| CBSA Name | Stores Affected |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC |
4 |
| None (Outside a CBSA Range) |
3 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC |
3 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC |
2 |
| Roanoke Rapids, NC |
1 |
| Thomasville-Lexington, NC |
1 |
| Rockingham, NC |
1 |
| Burlington, NC |
1 |
| Washington, NC |
1 |
| Asheville, NC |
1 |
| Albemarle, NC |
1 |
| Kinston, NC |
1 |
| Total |
20 |
*Source: Chain Store Guide’s Drug Store Locations Database
As stated in a previous insight in this space, Walgreens will strengthen its leading market share position in the Charlotte metro area. Data from Chain Store Guide’s 2013 Drug Industry Market Share Report, (published in August 2013) presents the top players in this market:
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC CBSA
| Company |
Area Pharmacies |
Area RX Market Share |
| CVS Caremark Corp.: WOONSOCKET, RI |
75 |
37.6% |
| Walgreen Company: DEERFIELD, IL |
44 |
21.0% |
| Rite Aid Corporation: CAMP HILL, PA |
51 |
16.2% |
| Walmart Stores Inc.: BENTONVILLE, AR |
23 |
8.2% |
| Target Corporation: MINNEAPOLIS, MN |
15 |
2.7% |
| Harris Teeter Inc.: MATTHEWS, NC |
32 |
2.5% |
| Kerr Drug Inc.: RALEIGH, NC |
4 |
1.7% |
| BI-LO LLC: GREENVILLE, SC |
25 |
1.7% |
| Sam’s Club: BENTONVILLE, AR |
5 |
1.2% |
| Kmart Corp.: HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL |
6 |
1.2% |
| Medicine Shoppe International Inc.: EARTH CITY, MO |
4 |
0.9% |
| Costco Wholesale Corp.: ISSAQUAH, WA |
2 |
0.5% |
| Moose Drug Company: MOUNT PLEASANT, NC |
4 |
0.4% |
| Ingles Markets Inc.: BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC |
1 |
0.4% |
| Other operations |
17 |
3.8% |
*Source: Chain Store Guide’s 2013 Drug Industry Market Share Report
