Hypothetical: what happens if CVS and Walgreens go bankrupt?

[mentos]

I went to the mall for the first time in a long time. There were empty big box stores where Sears and JCPenney used to be, and Gymboree was having a store closing sale too. No big deal since there are plenty of other stores where you can purchase the same goods.

However if CVS and Walgreens closed, where would people get their drugs? There are hardly any Independents anymore and most people don't do mail order. Just looking at how much their stocks plumetted in the past few years... If you can't profit during the bull run the past 3 years, then how can you profit when it becomes a bear market?

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[Thoughtfulsinner]

Alldaychemist

 

[sosoo]

with the rise of Amazon in all sectors, the retail apocalypse is very real. plenty of companies went bust, and hundreds more closing this year. with Amazon now focusing on pharmacy, Walgreens will be next to fall. front store sales are already declining. that is why CVS is now focus on reducing front store square footage for Hallmark and candy bars and use the space to provide in store health services /clinics. these health services will differentiate CVS from competitors, and shield from Amazon. Amazon is strong in online sales, but cannot provide direct 2 consumers health services. CVS will not go down with the ship. // unfortunately, this can only mean one thing. each january CVS will continue to cut pharmacy staffs down to breaking point to fund these projects. the loss at Omnicare. the huge debt of Aetna purchase. the declining front store sales. everything points to pharmacy being the only money maker. and the cost cutting tactic will only worsen each January.

 

[Saisri_PharmStdnt]

Supposedly, with the new health services/clinics in the stores, there is supposed to be an increase in pharmacist hours to meet the expected demand. (Yes, I stressed Supposedly) But many of the quote/unquote positive changes the CVS is trying to make are slated to be seen starting 2020.

Also, they said they are aware of the issues with Omnicare and are working on turning that around. (Will they? Who knows?)

Take all of that with a grain of salt. That was taken out of the Rah-Rah-Townhall Meeting. I'm just sharing.

 

[josh6718]

I went to the mall for the first time in a long time. There were empty big box stores where Sears and JCPenney used to be, and Gymboree was having a store closing sale too. No big deal since there are plenty of other stores where you can purchase the same goods.

However if CVS and Walgreens closed, where would people get their drugs? There are hardly any Independents anymore and most people don't do mail order. Just looking at how much their stocks plumetted in the past few years... If you can't profit during the bull run the past 3 years, then how can you profit when it becomes a bear market?

"Too big to fail"- I'm sure the government would bail them out just like they did with other publicly traded companies such as General Motors, Chrysler, the big banks, or mortgage lenders (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. CEO's and executives would still their golden parachute compensation while laying off 'non-essential' employees and then pass the remaining bill on to the working American taxpayers to pay.

 

[PharFromNormal]

Going bankrupt =/= going out of business. Bankruptcy can actually open a lot of doors to “fixing” the business. The pathway to get to less benefits and lower wages becomes much easier or much more real through a chapter 11. So if the mega giants of the profession are filing bankruptcy I’d say it means that average pharmacists wages have already or are on the brink of taking a severe wage reduction. Just due to the sheer volume of pharmacists employeed by these two companies, it will certainly move the needle on average rate which would have rippling industry wide consequences.