As a Bay Area resident, I’m the first to knock local politicians and D.A.s for coddling criminals and making the region a terrible place to do business. With that said, it’s a bit cheesy of Walgreen’s to purchase a small local competitor and then within a few months shut down all 7 of the former competitors’ stores. I’m reminded by an analogous situation a number of years ago in which there was a local bakery chain called La Boulange that was selling coffee and pastries. Their stores were scattered around the various upscale neighborhoods that also typically contained a Starbucks. Anyhow, Starbucks bought out the La Boulange chain... and then proceeded to shutter all of their stores, thereby eliminating an up-and-coming competitor.
I barely remember La Boulange. Thanks.
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-starbucks-closed-la-boulange-bakeries-2015-6
Pharmaca was not up and coming. It was in bankruptcy. Walgreens is keeping the stores outside of San Fransicko open.
“it’s a bit cheesy of Walgreen’s to purchase a small local competitor and then within a few months shut down all 7 of the former competitors’ stores”
I can’t pass judgment without knowing why Walgreens did that. Can you give us their side of the story?
If the customer demand was there after the bought-out La Boulange stores were closed, a new competitor could enter the market.
I suspect the owners of La Boulange, like many owners, built up a small chain with the intention of selling it, often to the largest competitor.