In a panic over Amazon.com’s plan to buy upstart online pharmacy PillPack, shareholders drove down the aggregate market value of CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid in late June by about $11 billion. Retail real estate professionals and at least one executive from these drugstore brands have displayed a bit more poise.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that Amazon wants to get into the pharmacy space,” said Randy Blankstein, president of The Boulder Group, a net-lease brokerage based in Wilmette, Ill. “But it’s step one for Amazon, and I think people are questioning what steps two and three are going to be as they get in and learn the business.”
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Amazon’s drug bet puts spotlight on conventional pharmacies
