Is There CVS in Canada in 2024? (All You Need To Know)

As of 2023, American pharmacy giant CVS Health Corporation still does not operate any store locations within Canada. With over 10,000 stores and $309 billion in annual revenues, CVS dominates the US retail pharmacy market. However, geographic expansion into Canada does not appear to be part of CVS‘ near-term growth strategy.

The Scale of CVS in the US

To comprehend CVS‘ absence in Canada, it‘s important to understand their commanding presence south of the border. According to Statista, CVS has over 9,900 pharmacy locations across the United States as of 2021. This gives them the #1 spot for most physical pharmacy outlets in the country by a considerable margin.

CVS holds nearly 10% market share of the entire US pharmacy industry. They fill over 1.5 billion prescriptions per year and generate more than $309 billion in total pharmacy and retail sales. Simply put, CVS is a giant in the US healthcare and retail ecosystem.

How Does CVS Compare to Pharmacy Chains in Canada?

Up in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart is the leading pharmacy retailer with around 1,300 locations nationwide. While substantial, this is still nearly 8X less than CVS in the US. Shoppers Drug Mart generates around $24 billion CAD in sales, equivalent to about $18 billion USD.

Here is a comparison of key metrics between CVS and select leading pharmacy players in Canada:

As shown above, CVS is in a separate league from even the largest Canadian pharmacy chain in terms of revenue, store count, scale and market presence.

Pharmacy Retail Landscape in Canada

Unlike the US, Canada does not have any single dominant national pharmacy retailer. The market is splintered amongst smaller regional players like Shopper‘s Drug Mart, Rexall, Pharmasave and Jean Coutu – all jockeying for position through mergers, acquisitions and slowly expanding their store count market-by-market.

There is no equivalent "CVS" of Canada that has established a clear competitive advantage or economies-of-scale across provinces – presenting both challenges and opportunities for potential new large-scale entrants.

Why Isn‘t CVS in Canada?

While no official reason has been given, some possibilities why CVS hasn‘t entered and competed in Canada include:

Geographic Focus: As the pharmacy market leader by far south of the border, CVS‘ strategy has focused aggressively on growth within the US rather than overseas.

Competitive Environment: The fragmented nature of pharmacy retail in Canada may make it less appealing for CVS enter and have to compete vigorously against provincial incumbents.

Future International Expansion Plans: CVS has concentrated on expanding vertically (Aetna acquisition) rather than horizontally abroad to date – but longer-term moves into Canada or beyond may still be evaluated based on market conditions and strategic priorities.

Could We See CVS in Canada in Future?

Though CVS doesn‘t currently operate in the country, possible drivers that could eventually attract CVS into the Canadian pharmacy market include:

• Organic growth stagnating in the US, forcing management to finally look beyond borders
• Relaxing of Canadian regulatory barriers restricting foreign competition
• Consolidation amongst leading Canadian chains opening door for external giant like CVS to enter fray
• Increasing options for mail order pharmacy in Canada making market accessible despite lack of physical footprint

The sheer scale, brand recognition, buying leverage and resources of CVS cannot be ignored forever – sooner or later the Canadian pharmacy retail sector may have to contend with this American juggernaut.

Conclusion

CVS Health undeniably dominates as America‘s leading drugstore retailer but has yet to showcase concrete plans for international expansion. While competitive and regulatory barriers have so far kept giants at bay – if conditions shift, few Canadian pharmacy incumbents will likely have the capabilities to stave off US behemoths like CVS from crossing the borders to contest the relatively fragmented market.