CVS makes a landmark decision

No good deed goes unpunished. They are lucky to make 6% on cigarette sales. No retail can survive on a margin like that, it's not going to be missed. Funny, I think I heard it's going to cost them 2 billion, their gross revenue for the year is only a billion.
 
gm272gs said:
They had better quit selling that evil alcohol, then.
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That's on a state by state basis. In Pa they don't sell alcohol. In fact in Pa on state run liquor store can sell liquor and wine. A private beer distributor can sell beer and of course a bar. That's it, no one else. Not Walmart not a supermarket, not anyone

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
$2 billion in sales does not mean $2 billion in profits. As most of the price is actually due to taxes, it is not that big a hit. And I am sure that the space will be used to sell something else that is profitable. It could wind up being a wash. And the cigs will just be bought somewhere else.

I am not too worried about US pharmacy profits. I have one script that really drove this home. I hit the medicare donut hole ( a piece of legislation that truly shows our politicians purpose in life). One major script cost me $600 for 90 days. The exact same thing, from a Canadian pharmacy, was $300 for 90 days.

If the govt taxes get too high, the suppliers on native American reservations will make a killing.
 
I'm just askin. I'm trying to figure why CVS would do this. Can 17 yr old cashiers sell cigarettes? Here anyway under 21 can't sell liquor. Maybe they want more part time low income after school employees? Do the big profits from cigarettes offset the additional time taken to insure the purchaser is of age? I've been in both Walgreens and CVS and typically there's one check out lane open in either store. Usually ahead of me in line is one lady with a cart full of 50% off decorator and CANDY items from whatever holiday just past and a lady ahead of her looking for generic, slim, menthol, filtered, 100's in a box that she has an expired coupon for. (is "for" a preposition? Mrs. Dalton said never end a sentence with a preposition. Her husband was a plumber and she taught school)
I never smoked, I saved all my money for beer. I don't care who smokes and second hand smoke don't phase me. Just don't show up at the hospital with $0.10 to your name with lung cancer (or a bullet in you for that matter, like so many here) and want treatment on the cuff as that pisses me off.
 
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Some years ago I recall...

Some pharmacy trade organization lobbied the CA state government to pass bills that would allow pharmacies to be the ONLY place where people could buy tobacco products. Their argument was that pharmacies are in a better position to advise customers on the health risks than grocery or convenience stores.


Modern day pharmacies have always puzzled me. Prescriptions, tobacco, every kind of junk food and candy, booze, cosmetics, diapers, sun tan lotion, swimming pool accessories. What a niche market.


Sgt Lumpy
 
Leonard said:
While I cannot stomach the smell of tobacco products it is a legal product people have the right to use it. The other side of that is I have the right not to have to smell it which has been dealt with in restaurants , bars and workplaces. But tobacco products are normally carried in drugstores, gas stations etc. Its not up to the retailer to attempt to force or make it more difficult for their customers to smoke. If Wall Mart decided ammo was too dangerous and quite selling it to make it more difficult to obtain would those of you that support CVS,s move feel the same?
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"Its not up to the retailer to attempt to force or make it more difficult for their customers to smoke." What do you mean by that? Are you really suggesting that retailers, such as CVS, should be required to sell tobacco products in their stores???
 
JcMack said:
I'm just askin. I'm trying to figure why CVS would do this. Can 17 yr old cashiers sell cigarettes? Here anyway under 21 can't sell liquor. Maybe they want more part time low income after school employees?...
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Maybe they just don't think it's right to be selling poison along with prescriptions...
 
My guess is that they will still sell candy to those picking up their diabetes medicine.

I doubt this is about putting higher moral ethics and public health before profits, but rather a strategy of image and business and profits. Whether the strategy works as planned is another matter. Remember Walmart stores not carrying guns. Tried that for a while... the guns are back.
 
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ChattanoogaPhil said:
My guess is that they will still sell candy to those picking up their diabetes medicine.

I doubt this is about putting higher moral ethics and public health before profits, but rather a strategy of image and business and profits. Whether the strategy works as planned is another matter. Remember Walmart stores not carrying guns. Tried that for a while... the guns are back.
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Wal-Mart made a dumb decision to defy the marketplace and tick off their customer base by not selling guns. I don't think the market for tobacco is comparable, and I don't think CVS's customers will demand a return of those products.
 
Every time a discussion of tobacco begins on here, the "what about" posts ensue...

What about motorcycles? What about guns? What about alcohol? Fast food? Candy? Etc., etc., etc...

Folks, regardless of how we feel about the subject of tobacco use, let's at least be honest about tobacco as a product, and the unique niche it occupies in the marketplace...

Guns and candy are not like tobacco.

Motorcycles are not like tobacco.

Fast food is not like tobacco.

Tobacco is unique: It is the only legally-available consumer product that has no medicinal or therapeutic value, and, when used as intended, does nothing except harm its users.

Fast food, motorcycles, candy, booze...all can be enjoyed in moderation with no negative health consequences. Unlike those products, there is no safe level of tobacco use. There is no medically-recommended dosage of tobacco.

Using tobacco is not like riding a motorcycle. Using tobacco is like jumping off a tall building: You will get hurt, the only question is when and to what extent.
 
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Beemerguy53 said:
"Its not up to the retailer to attempt to force or make it more difficult for their customers to smoke." What do you mean by that? Are you really suggesting that retailers, such as CVS, should be required to sell tobacco products in their stores???
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No one should be forced to do or sell anything they do not want to it should be their choice.

My point was you have people and companies in this case a publicly traded company trying to force their (I do not want to use the word morals as that has nothing to do with it) beliefs on the general public. When smoking customers find this inconvenient they may go elsewhere while I find smoking nauseating I will not spend money at a store that clearly discriminates against a legal right whether its something I participate in or not.
 
Leonard said:
No one should be forced to do or sell anything they do not want to it should be their choice.

My point was you have people and companies in this case a publicly traded company trying to force their (I do not want to use the word morals as that has nothing to do with it) beliefs on the general public. When smoking customers find this inconvenient they may go elsewhere while I find smoking nauseating I will not spend money at a store that clearly discriminates against a legal right whether its something I participate in or not.
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So you are trying to force your beliefs on CVS...okay, I get it now.
 
I wonder if the sales/profit numbers are accurate - did CVS publish those or are they speculation? Also, do they have data on theft and or robbery related to tobacco products? I worked in a drug store for 15 years and tobacco, cosmetics, batteries, razor blades, tylenol and baby formula were the most common targets for shoplifters.
I wonder why it would take till October to make this change effective? Based on my experience even if you decided to sell out what you already have on the shelf that might only take a few weeks or a month. Even figuring out what to fill that space with shouldn't take very long - unless perhaps you have a team going from store to store making the changes and with lots of stores it could take some time.
Or - pure speculation here - they are giving themselves a window to monitor what happens and the feedback they get so that they have time to back pedal and change their position or allow exceptions etc.
I know from experience that folks who buy alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets will spend $ on other items and that you only have to be out of stock on their favorite item once or twice before you lose all of their business.
What would you think if they used the space previously dedicated to tobacco products to sell firearm related items?
 
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