Future of Kmart Pharmacy

Started by UConn101
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None of us have crystal balls. Companies have been on the verge of bankrupty before, and yet were able to make a comeback. Companies that everyone thought was doing very well, have been known to suddenly dive and fail. K-mart hasn't been doing very well the past few years....its possible they could decide to close their pharmacies in order to save money, its possible they could decide to start emphasing their pharmacies more in order to drive more traffic into their stores. No job lasts forever, so I wouldn't make that a consideration in considering whether or not to take a job. If a K-mart job sounds good to you, then take it. Even if K-mart pharmacies are eventually closed, you'll still have the experience you gained by working there.
 
BidingMyTime said:
None of us have crystal balls. Companies have been on the verge of bankrupty before, and yet were able to make a comeback. Companies that everyone thought was doing very well, have been known to suddenly dive and fail. K-mart hasn't been doing very well the past few years....its possible they could decide to close their pharmacies in order to save money, its possible they could decide to start emphasing their pharmacies more in order to drive more traffic into their stores. No job lasts forever, so I wouldn't make that a consideration in considering whether or not to take a job. If a K-mart job sounds good to you, then take it. Even if K-mart pharmacies are eventually closed, you'll still have the experience you gained by working there.
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Exactly. No one really knows the future. Just look at Apple and compare their stock prices 10 years ago versus now.
 
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The Kmart pharmacy in my town is DEAD. Every time I've been in there (I just moved to this city a month ago), the pharmacist has been just sitting there. No technician, and nobody at the window either. I was there Sunday (when the pharmacy is closed) and as I got a cart, a manager was posting a flyer stating that if you bring in a prescription for your pet, you can get some free pet care doodad that's worth $3.99.

One of my pharmacy school classmates is now an attorney and hasn't practiced pharmacy since she graduated from law school about 10 years ago, but she's still licensed. We're on Facebook, and she worked for the Sears headquarters in their legal department until a couple months ago, when she took a job that she said was closer to home and had better hours. And better job security too is my guess, which is especially important to her because she just got divorced and has 2 kids.

The other Kmart is in the process of closing. There was a similar wave ca. 2002, when I was still in retail, and when that town's Kmart closed, we got their files and a pharmacist too.

p.s. My classmate said that law school was about 100,000 times easier than pharmacy school, and she had her first child at that time too.
 
I've been at Kmart as a pharmacist for just about a year now, so hopefully I can offer some insight.

Personally, I think Kmart will be dead and gone within a couple years (or at least the store that I currently work at will be closed down) but anything could happen at this point. While I do think of job security from time to time, I'm not super worried about it since I'm sure there will be plenty of other opportunities for me out there regardless of what happens to Sears Holdings.

As for the future of Kmart Pharmacy, it actually does appear that corporate wants to emphasize it more compared to the rest of the store. On a conference call a couple months back, our DM told us the line of thinking at corporate was "Kmart is to pharmacy as Sears is to appliances." That could be a load of BS though, as I've heard that some of the "new" Kmart stores (which have been converted back from Sears stores) have had their pharmacies removed. The pharmacy is also rolling out a huge Pet Med program (starting today actually) which could bring in a lot of new business potentially if it works as well as they think it might.

If you have any other questions, just send me a PM. There are definitely issues with Kmart pharmacy that I have, but I want to keep things relatively positive here since I think it would be pretty easy for someone at SHC HQ to narrow down who I might really be 😀
 
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I'm a Kmart intern, and the stores aren't terribly busy, but we're not super dead either. Yesterday we did about 200, which is a typical Monday for us, and weekends we do 60-90 each day depending on the weather. I think the hardest part is that you won't get a patient to come to Kmart pharmacy unless they're already a Kmart shopper. No one wants to walk through the store to get an rx that they could pick up at a drive thru or grocery store (where they would be shopping anyway). However, if you are already a Kmart shopper, that's where the store makes a good deal of money, since all of our patients buy merchandise while they wait, from OTC items to clothing, toys, housewares, etc. My SP has told me that the pharmacy generates a large portion of the store's revenue, and obviously we generate sales in other departments as well. Our generic plan is ridiculously cheap and includes many items that other stores do not. We're rolling out a big Pet project, including expanded veterinary pharmacy and we moved around the store to have some less large appliances and more pet items. I really like working at Kmart, most of the employees have been at the store 10-20+ years so you get that tight-knit feel to it. We close for lunch 1:30-2, and you get that great employee discount for Kmart, Sears, and Lands End. We still use PDX, but it gets the job done, and we're all very familiar with how to run it. Like others have said, I can't really make a prediction about the company as a whole, but the pharmacy seems to be doing well.
 
Ackj said:
I'm a Kmart intern, and the stores aren't terribly busy, but we're not super dead either. Yesterday we did about 200, which is a typical Monday for us, and weekends we do 60-90 each day depending on the weather. I think the hardest part is that you won't get a patient to come to Kmart pharmacy unless they're already a Kmart shopper. No one wants to walk through the store to get an rx that they could pick up at a drive thru or grocery store (where they would be shopping anyway). However, if you are already a Kmart shopper, that's where the store makes a good deal of money, since all of our patients buy merchandise while they wait, from OTC items to clothing, toys, housewares, etc. My SP has told me that the pharmacy generates a large portion of the store's revenue, and obviously we generate sales in other departments as well. Our generic plan is ridiculously cheap and includes many items that other stores do not. We're rolling out a big Pet project, including expanded veterinary pharmacy and we moved around the store to have some less large appliances and more pet items. I really like working at Kmart, most of the employees have been at the store 10-20+ years so you get that tight-knit feel to it. We close for lunch 1:30-2, and you get that great employee discount for Kmart, Sears, and Lands End. We still use PDX, but it gets the job done, and we're all very familiar with how to run it. Like others have said, I can't really make a prediction about the company as a whole, but the pharmacy seems to be doing well.
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The average CVS pharmacy that I work/float at in my region does about 2000 scripts a week. The average ones does about 400 on Mondays and 350 on the weekdays.
 
The Sears store here in town is definitely on its way out; the racks are widely spaced and not exactly loaded with merchandise.
 
Hi, I am a new pharmacist, just graduated in May. I got an interview offer from KMart. I am wondering how things have changed there since your post in 2012? Is the job more/less secure there now? Are Kmarts doing worse or better? Any help will be appreciated.
THanks!

FSUPharmD said:
I've been at Kmart as a pharmacist for just about a year now, so hopefully I can offer some insight.

Personally, I think Kmart will be dead and gone within a couple years (or at least the store that I currently work at will be closed down) but anything could happen at this point. While I do think of job security from time to time, I'm not super worried about it since I'm sure there will be plenty of other opportunities for me out there regardless of what happens to Sears Holdings.

As for the future of Kmart Pharmacy, it actually does appear that corporate wants to emphasize it more compared to the rest of the store. On a conference call a couple months back, our DM told us the line of thinking at corporate was "Kmart is to pharmacy as Sears is to appliances." That could be a load of BS though, as I've heard that some of the "new" Kmart stores (which have been converted back from Sears stores) have had their pharmacies removed. The pharmacy is also rolling out a huge Pet Med program (starting today actually) which could bring in a lot of new business potentially if it works as well as they think it might.

If you have any other questions, just send me a PM. There are definitely issues with Kmart pharmacy that I have, but I want to keep things relatively positive here since I think it would be pretty easy for someone at SHC HQ to narrow down who I might really be 😀
Click to expand...
 
i haven't seen an actual kmart for years. there used to be a lot when i was a kid but i'm guessing they collapsed. I'm sure they are still around but hard to find one even in new york
 
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There was a wave of closings in the early 00s, and the one in the town where I was working in retail did indeed lose theirs. We got their files, and one of their pharmacists too.

That building has since been demolished, and a Home Depot constructed in its place. It's weird to drive down that road and see it.
 
rph3664 said:
There was a wave of closings in the early 00s, and the one in the town where I was working in retail did indeed lose theirs. We got their files, and one of their pharmacists too.

That building has since been demolished, and a Home Depot constructed in its place. It's weird to drive down that road and see it.
Click to expand...

I'll never forget out director's reaction to this, either. He was off the day we found out we were going to get Kmart's files, and he called the store for some reason and I asked him if he'd spoken to the store director. He knew immediately what had happened (we had gotten a Shopko a year earlier) and he :boom: :flame: and a lot of other smilies we don't have here. The Shopko transition had been a nightmare, but honestly, the Kmart transition was about 10,000 times easier because we knew what we were doing this time around.
 
As long as they don't start running blue light specials on drugs, you'll probably be ok...

image6.png


But seriously though, in my area, there have been a lot of kmarts that have closed recently. They seem to be leaving about one store in each major market. I worked as an intern there a few years back, and I'll second what others have said...days can be pretty slow. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. At my particular store, if we hit 100 scripts, it was a busy day. I literally brought a book to read one day... Sadly, that store has since shut down. I've also heard elsewhere that the pharmacy is what's keeping a lot of kmart stores in business, so if you get placed in a busy pharmacy, that probably bodes well for the future of your store. That's pure speculation though. Best of luck with the job hunt!
 
i just received an email about a local KMart looking for a full time staff pharmacist. I'm currently floating with one of the chains. What do you guys think? Should I apply? I don't really see myself driving 45 miles in the winter time to float..
 
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