(Bloomberg) — In 2007, Lee Scott, then Walmart Stores Inc.’s CEO, trumpeted plans to open as many as 2,000
Today Walmart has fewer than 130 clinics and is closing locations faster than it’s opening them. Meanwhile, CVS Caremark Corp., which already has about 630
Walmart, which farmed out the operation of the clinics to third-party operators, hasn’t adequately promoted its clinics to shoppers or made it easy for them to pick up their prescriptions. Thomas Charland, who runs Merchant Medicine, a research and consulting firm specializing in walk-in health care, has heard “lots of complaints” from operators that they get little support from Wal-Mart, and he characterized the company’s efforts as “trial and failure.”
It’s not as though Scott’s “great opportunity” no longer exists. As key parts of the
Walmart is “always looking for new ways to provide affordable health services and products to our customers,” including a program that offers prescription drugs for $4, says Danit Marquardt, a Walmart spokeswoman. She didn’t answer questions about the clinic strategy.