September 22, 2006
Weight Loss/Health Clinic to Open in Rite Aid
When banks first began opening branches inside supermarkets, stores that offered the service stood apart from the competition. In a short period of time, however, in-store banks
were popping up all over the landscape and the aspect of differentiation pretty well went out the window.
The current “thing” for in-store services are medical clinics. CVS even went out and purchased MinuteClinic, a firm that runs medical clinics in stores.
While medical clinics are a long way from being as ubiquitous as in-store banks, press releases and news reports come out on a daily basis announcing the latest locations that
will soon have nurse practitioners caring for patients/shoppers.
So perhaps it is not too soon to start asking what stores with clinics will do in the not too distant future to create a distinct identity from all the others that have these
facilities in the store, as well.
An announcement earlier this week suggests at least one clinic operator (Lindora Medical Clinics) and retailer (Rite Aid) have already begun to address the sameness issue.
What makes Lindora’s clinics different is that, in addition to offering basic services such as administering vaccinations, it will also offer a medically supervised weight-loss
clinic.
According to a joint press release from Rite Aid and Lindora: “Supervised weight management programs will be offered for those looking to start or restart a weight loss program;
specialized adolescent and geriatric weight control programs will also be available. All of the weight management programs will be based on Lindora’s long-established medically
supervised program combining diet, moderate exercise and motivational tools to help patients become Lean for Life. Lindora currently operates 35 Lindora Medical Clinics staffed
by both physicians and Certified Nurse Practitioners.”
Cynthia Stamper Graff, Lindora president and chief executive officer, said the concept is just in time. “With nearly two-thirds of all Americans classified as either overweight
or obese, the need is growing for easy access to effective and long-term weight control. Our programs are designed to help the public safely achieve their weight loss goals.”
Mark de Bruin, executive vice president of pharmacy, Rite Aid, said offering weight-management programs would help differentiate the drugstore chain from its competition. “Obesity
is a growing epidemic and a major factor in developing diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. With Lindora’s expertise in medically supervised weight management, we are taking
in-store health care services to a new level.”
Discussion Questions: What is your reaction to Rite Aid offering weight loss services as well as basic medical through its in-store health clinic provider?
Will the addition of a medically supervised weight loss service expand the demographic reach of clinics?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
If gaining weight is one’s medical fate,
Hurry to Rite Aid before it’s too late.
But if one slips and regains their lost pounds,
Then protests against Rite Aid will resound.
Kudos to Gene on one of his best rhymes ever, but I think he and Ryan may be a LITTLE too skeptical of consumers on this one. I sometimes get lax and add a few pounds back myself — but I don’t blame my gym or trainers. It all depends on whether the weight loss offering is viewed by consumers as a “program” or a “cure” ala METABOLIFE.
At any rate, even if we acknowledge the potential backlash of failed weight loss efforts, we must also acknowledge that Rite Aid has zeroed in on the number one health issue in America. And on the one consumers most often attempt to “self-medicate” through the combination of diet and exercise.
I think most people trying to lose weight have a little more intelligence and insight into the problem than blaming a provider for all of their problems. The potential upsides for such programs is tremendous, especially if there is a strong community relations component to it.
As long as they pay close attention to their marketing “Ps” and remember that the most critical audiences will be the competitor weight loss programs, a couple of voluntary associations with vested interests in weight loss and the scientific/policy communities who will want to see evidence of effectiveness (and not just the media clippings and testimonials), I say go for it! As many different organizations and methods are deployed to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obese teens and adults, the better for their choices and health.
Finally, we have a retail pharmacy chain that is following in the footsteps of the innovators at Boots in the UK. They’ve known for a long time that frequency-oriented, premium-priced services and product categories entrench the pharmacy in family health as no mass merchant or grocery-base dispensary can. Next, look for hearing aids, prescription glasses, expanded health food & supplement assortments and, as the baby boom hits 60 years old, the local drug store will finally stock more than a few canes and bathtub grabrails in the underserved home health category.
Pharmacy specialty retailers may not be able beat the mass merchants and grocers selling paper goods, Halloween costumes or even loss leader generic meds, but they can build on their advantage as the only place Americans can get quality, government regulated healthcare products and advice without an appointment. A One new service doesn’t a sea change make, but this is a good start!
It might backfire since the majority of weight loss consumers end up putting the weight they lost back on. If they blame the clinic for those regained pounds, they may extend that blame to the retailer that houses the clinic.
This fits right in with our recommendation that retailers stop thinking of their patrons as customers, and think more of them as people, as in, what do people need and want? If you see yourself in the business of serving people, categories of service will recede as the dominant identifier of a business. Drug stores are already becoming C-stores. Whether consciously done so or not, this works because the store traffic wants and needs “convenience.” It is obviously more complex than this, but this is where it begins: what do people want and need.
The Rite Aid Lindora program is certainly innovative. Is it a problem to run a weight control service in a place that prominently features candy, soda pop, salty snacks, etc.? Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t hold its meetings in bars. Only substantial testing will determine whether the Lindora weight control program will be successful.
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If gaining weight is one’s medical fate,
Hurry to Rite Aid before it’s too late.
But if one slips and regains their lost pounds,
Then protests against Rite Aid will resound.
Kudos to Gene on one of his best rhymes ever, but I think he and Ryan may be a LITTLE too skeptical of consumers on this one. I sometimes get lax and add a few pounds back myself — but I don’t blame my gym or trainers. It all depends on whether the weight loss offering is viewed by consumers as a “program” or a “cure” ala METABOLIFE.
At any rate, even if we acknowledge the potential backlash of failed weight loss efforts, we must also acknowledge that Rite Aid has zeroed in on the number one health issue in America. And on the one consumers most often attempt to “self-medicate” through the combination of diet and exercise.
I think most people trying to lose weight have a little more intelligence and insight into the problem than blaming a provider for all of their problems. The potential upsides for such programs is tremendous, especially if there is a strong community relations component to it.
As long as they pay close attention to their marketing “Ps” and remember that the most critical audiences will be the competitor weight loss programs, a couple of voluntary associations with vested interests in weight loss and the scientific/policy communities who will want to see evidence of effectiveness (and not just the media clippings and testimonials), I say go for it! As many different organizations and methods are deployed to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obese teens and adults, the better for their choices and health.
Finally, we have a retail pharmacy chain that is following in the footsteps of the innovators at Boots in the UK. They’ve known for a long time that frequency-oriented, premium-priced services and product categories entrench the pharmacy in family health as no mass merchant or grocery-base dispensary can. Next, look for hearing aids, prescription glasses, expanded health food & supplement assortments and, as the baby boom hits 60 years old, the local drug store will finally stock more than a few canes and bathtub grabrails in the underserved home health category.
Pharmacy specialty retailers may not be able beat the mass merchants and grocers selling paper goods, Halloween costumes or even loss leader generic meds, but they can build on their advantage as the only place Americans can get quality, government regulated healthcare products and advice without an appointment. A One new service doesn’t a sea change make, but this is a good start!
It might backfire since the majority of weight loss consumers end up putting the weight they lost back on. If they blame the clinic for those regained pounds, they may extend that blame to the retailer that houses the clinic.
This fits right in with our recommendation that retailers stop thinking of their patrons as customers, and think more of them as people, as in, what do people need and want? If you see yourself in the business of serving people, categories of service will recede as the dominant identifier of a business. Drug stores are already becoming C-stores. Whether consciously done so or not, this works because the store traffic wants and needs “convenience.” It is obviously more complex than this, but this is where it begins: what do people want and need.
The Rite Aid Lindora program is certainly innovative. Is it a problem to run a weight control service in a place that prominently features candy, soda pop, salty snacks, etc.? Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t hold its meetings in bars. Only substantial testing will determine whether the Lindora weight control program will be successful.