Crain’s Chicago Business has a story about the potential impact on the retail drug store business if Amazon were to decide to get into it, either by acquisition or start-up. To this point, Amazon hasn’t commented on speculation about such a move, but the rumors alone have hurt both major drug chains’ stock price, and CVS is talking about launching same-day and next-day delivery, as well as a potential acquisition of the Aetna insurance chain as a possible differentiator.
But Amazon would be a formidable competitor, the story says, because it could use its massive logistics expertise to create a delivery model that would cut costs by cutting out middle men. It also could use its buying power to become an enormous player in the generics business, or could “turn Whole Foods into Whole Drugs,” which would give it “a physical presence in which it could set up pharmacies or pickup points in addition to a mail or same-day-delivery operation.”
But Amazon would be a formidable competitor, the story says, because it could use its massive logistics expertise to create a delivery model that would cut costs by cutting out middle men. It also could use its buying power to become an enormous player in the generics business, or could “turn Whole Foods into Whole Drugs,” which would give it “a physical presence in which it could set up pharmacies or pickup points in addition to a mail or same-day-delivery operation.”
- KC's View:
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I love one of the other potential advantages that Amazon could b ring to the party - the ability for me, as a customer, to simply say, “Alexa, I’m running out of Lipitor,” and have a refill instantly ordered and quickly delivered.
Again, this is all speculation … Amazon hasn’t said it is getting into this business.
Yet.
