Drug Store Wars: Walgreens, CVS Move In. Is Wal-Mart Really a Problem?

In the city of Placentia (in Orange County), a CVS drug store recently opened on Kraemer Boulevard. At around the same time, a Walgreens opened not more than half a mile further down Kraemer and across the street from an already existing Sav-on drug store. 

Likewise, in nearby Fullerton, Sav-on sitting on State College Boulevard was recently revamped into a CVS after the company purchased some 700 Sav-ons for $2.9 billion this past summer.

With the recent cropping of drug stores throughout Southern California, notably in Orange County, one wonders if Wal-Mart is as much a problem as before. For all the bad press Wal-Mart has received in the past about creating a monopoly and making smaller drug stores disappear, it seems the smaller drug stores are making a comeback.

In Orange County, as a result of the Sav-on acquisition, CVS is now the top drug store chain in Orange County. Following CVS, are Rite Aid and Walgreens leaving customers a myriad of choices for their shopping needs.

As a result of the competition, the smaller drug store chains are adding various perks (and quirks) to the shopping experience. Rite Aid, for example, is testing the addition of Lindora weight loss clinics in three of its Orange County stores.

The addition of these smaller drug stores could prove to be competition for superstores such as Wal-Mart and Target. The potential for smaller drug stores such as CVS and Walgreens to take away Wal-Mart customers looking to purchase makeup or generic, over-the-counter drugs, is a possibility in the future. While there's no denying that CVS will beat out a Wal-Mart or Target in overall revenues, stores such as CVS could definitely prove to be possible rivals. In a move, possibly signaling Wal-Mart's discomfort with CVS treading in the same market territory, generic drug prices at Wal-Mart dropped $4 in Florida stores last month.