LOS ANGELES – Where can
you get sushi, frozen yogurt and lattes all at one place? At a Walgreens in
Hollywood, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
“Shoppers are just getting
more savvy and into buying things online, so drug stores have to evolve to keep
customers,” said Dane Leone, a senior research analyst at Macquarie Bank.
“They’re also learning that in places like LA and New York, people want the
option of picking up high-end fresh food when they go fill their prescription.”
Drug stores are going
after the upscale crowd by expanding to fresh food. Walgreens has opened new
stores with large alcohol sections and sushi chefs, while Rite Aid is redoing
its stores to add gluten-free and packaged organic foods. At some CVS
locations, customers can pick up freshly made sandwiches, fruit and vegetables.
(See more of Walgreens’ new stores in
the 2012 NACS “Ideas 2 Go” DVD.)
“Drug stores are trying to
figure out what their role is,” said Ken Martindale, COO of Rite Aid. “We’re in
a new environment where everyone is selling everything.”
With dollar stores
enlarging their fresh food selections and discount chains going into groceries,
drug stores are trying to keep up by returning to their roots. Pharmacies of
the past often served ice cream and fast lunches at soda fountains. Today’s
drug stores are looking to become a more upscale version of that.
Walgreens has six similar
stores already running, with another 10 being built in Miami and San Francisco,
among other cities. “The main thing is, it makes us more relevant,” said Bryan
Pugh, a vice president at Walgreens. “If we are more relevant to customers,
that makes us more successful.”