"Loblaw Will Widen Its Pharmacy Footprint

Loblaw is banking on becoming a trusted name in health care. Since the grocery conglomerate snapped up Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014 for $12.4 billion, it’s invested in telemedicine and electronic records and rolled out offerings like cholesterol screenings and travel vaccinations.

The next step is Shoppers Health Clinics, a brand extension that allows pharmacists to take appointments and prescribe drugs for minor ailments. The service is active in one location in Burlington, Ontario. The goal is to have 250 operational in 2025. The math works: six million Canadians lack regular access to a physician, but 85 per cent live within a 10-minute drive of a Loblaw-owned pharmacies."

Maclean's January 2025