Independent retailers winning in land of giants

Market forces have driven consolation throughout all of retail and especially health care where Target recently sold its pharmacy business to CVS Health. How is it that 20,000 independent pharmacies continue to thrive in an increasingly complex health care world and what can other retailers learn from their experience.

A key reason why independent pharmacies remain a viable alternative to industry giants such as CVS Health, Walgreens and Walmart is they are able to tap into the resources of equally sophisticated health care service providers such as McKesson. The company held its annual customer conference called “McKesson Ideashare” recently and drew a record 5,000 attendees. Retailing Today sister publication Drug Store News provided wall-to-wall coverage of the event during which McKesson executives shared timely perspective on the evolving healthcare landscape and why there are still so many independent pharmacies.

For an overview of the event click here or to read an exclusive interview with Mark Walchirk, McKesson’s president of U.S. pharmaceutical click here.