Drug Stores Industry Profile

Companies in this industry sell prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, health and beauty products, and general merchandise from physical retail locations. Major companies include Walgreen Co, CVS Health, and Rite Aid (all based in the US), along with Jean Coutu and Shoppers Drug Mart (Canada), China Nepstar (China), AS Watson (Hong Kong), Matsumoto Kiyoshi (Japan), Dm-Drogerie Markt and Dirk Rossmann (Germany), and Walgreen-owned Boots the Chemist (UK).

Annual worldwide revenue for pharmaceutical manufacturing, an indicator of demand for prescription drug sales, exceeds $1.1 trillion and is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2022, according to a 2018 forecast from market intelligence firm IQVIA. The US, with about a third of worldwide pharmaceutical sales, is the largest market, followed by Europe and China with about 25% and 10%, respectively. Growth drivers include the aging of the population and increased health awareness. Older adults are more likely than their younger peers to take multiple prescription medications: More than half (54%) of adults 65 and older report taking four or more prescription drugs compared with a third of adults age 50 to 64 and about one in 10 adults 30 to 49, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The US drug stores industry includes about 45,500 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $295 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The evolving US health care system and growing competition from ...