Duane Reade At Death's Door?

Duane Reade, now with bread lines. (dchadwick's Flickr)

Duane Reade may be a soulless corporate chain, but its our corporate chain, forged right here in 1960 at a warehouse between its eponymous Tribeca streets. But despite (or because of?) its ubiquity—253 locations in NYC and counting—Duane Reade is deeply in debt, and last week its corporate parent, private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, shelled out $125 million to save Duane Reade from defaulting on its debt.

That bailout comes on top of a $50 million investment for remodeling, which Duane Reade CEO John Lederer promises will turn the beat around: "New Yorkers deserve a break and not to be squeezed in a store with little aisles. Our brand has not been reimaged [sic] in 10 years." (Didn't they just "reimage" the logo?)

So far, 20 locations have been remodeled, and 100 more will be rebooted by the end of next year. But it's unclear whether Oak Hill will spend any money to get some more employees behind the cash registers so customers don't have to waste the best years of their lives standing on line just to buy a toothbrush. It's also unclear if any of these millions of dollars will make a damn bit of difference, what with fierce competition from CVS (110 NYC stores and counting) and Walgreen (50 NYC locations). A source tells the Post, "Oak Hill needs to protect its investment or [Duane Reade will] die. I don't think anybody is going to figure out how to turn it around."

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By John Del Signore in News on August 7, 2009 9:41 AM

Comments [rss]

itsgoodman

duane reade sucks. i'll be glad when they go bankrupt. i've had it with impersonal, big chain pharmacies. i find you can depend on those small mom & pop independent pharmacies, though. they've built their businesses on proving good customer service, something DR and CVS can't seem to provide.

[mis]inheritance

I don't think they will survive this recession.

You can tell that this drugstore has reached its peak when there is one around every corner. There is simply no way people are going to need them.

Pumping that money to keep Duane Reade going was a waste.

I haven't had a problem with their customer service. I will say that CVS is pretty good but there aren't as many obviously.

dgeee

I can do without Duane Reade, but bring back Wholesale Liquidator.

NannyState

As long as my pharmacist is crooked, I don't care what logo's on his tunic.

resa

I recently wrote about a pharmacy clerk at DR who had a name tag that said "For Vaginal Use Only".

I like that there is a Duane Reed or a Chase Bank on every other block in New York even though it's stupid as sh*t. I like that I can always get cash without having to pay a fee.

joyce

Well with one on every corner, how can you not bleed red ink? I am sooo fed up with these big chain "pharmacies". My insurer, UnitedHealthcare, effective January, '09, refuses to pay for my expensive meds unless I get them from Walgreens. My local pharmacist (read small businessman) has been filling my prescriptions for years. I have since learned that the insurer owns Walgreens.

JenChungsBaby

Best thing about Duane Reade is that there's a Chase ATM inside every one. There's one DR on my block, one four blocks south, one two blocks west, and a new one opening soon three blocks to the north. That's a lot of ATMs.

silver

8 registers, never more than 1 used, someone should be fired for ordering 7 pork registers when it could have been used for the CEO's bonus.

Looks like top brass cashed out the credit rating of DR and now will run. "limited liability means I'm immuned from anything I do with this company, free market is awesome!!!!" Now DR will go bankrupt and leave 100s of empty stores for years in NYC, like a Caldor or Bradlees or Circuit City in the burbs.

Mookie Wilson

I hate Duane Reade with a passion normally reserved for jesus freaks and Jamba Juice. In year three of a lifetime embargo of ever stepping foot inside their depressing ass stores.

If there is a hell it is a neverending line in DR waiting for the cro-mag behind the counter to figure out the cash register.

longacre

As bad as DR is, the other national chains are far worse in terms of prices and staff. And at least DR gives you those $5 coupons!

Also, the DR at 57th & Bway is actually NICE to visit, the staff is friendly, believe it or not, and they usually seem to have one or two more cashiers than they really need, keeping the line very short.

whitecastlerock

They are nice to the tourists-any other DR treats people like gum on their shoe

emilydickinson

Duane Reade is the most poorly run retail establishment in NYC. Even if there is one person in line in front of you, you will spend 15 minutes at the register. They'll have 15 people wandering the aisles counting Ensure, with one register open and 40 people waiting.

dignam

Duane Reade has some of the lousiest customer service I've witnessed in New York. One time last year, I bought a coffeemaker at their 86th/Lex location. It had been USED, the heating element had burned out, and they'd just repackaged it and sold it off like nobody's business. It took me a half-hour of wrangling at the counter just to get a refund. Appalling. The register staff are woefully inept, lines are long, staffing hierarchies are totally inefficient -- little wonder to me they're in such deep trouble.

TJ

Hate DR, but the remodeled stores do look a lot nicer.

Agree that CVS is the best of the bunch, that's not saying much though. And the CVS on 3rd ave and East 21st is weird. It's like a redone grocery store or something and looks nothing like every other CVS.

hotstepper

old school pharmacies were the shit and there are a few still around, especially upstate. owner/operator, good service, unique (sometimes historic) store interiors, quality wares not all made in india and china.

why are we supposed to care about a chain drugstore's financial difficulties? what do they add to the community?

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

A checker at the recently remodeled DR on B'way & W 95th said that the entire staff was let go because they were "mean." I dunno if EVERYONE was let go but they're all nice as hell now.

My ratings of NYC drugstore chains:

1. CVS

2. Wallgreens

3. DR

4. Rite-Aid

Rite-Aid is what I imagine a prison commissary to be like--during a prison riot.

whitecastlerock

CVS, Duane Reade, Rite Aid, Walgreens are all abominable. They can all go down the tubes as far as I am concerned

MatthewJC

... and maybe if the clerks spoke English and knew how to operate a cash register...

schadenfreudian mensch

Dude, you're asking for way too much.

CR

"New Yorkers deserve a break and not to be squeezed in a store with little aisles."

NYers never get what they deserve, so why would we expect that from Duane Reade? Rebrand yourself, have smaller stores, narrowing aisle - do what you have to do to save your business. NYers will still come - what other choice do we have?