Kmart & Walmart in Price War?
by June 1, 1998 12:00 am 282 views
Arch-rival retailers Kmart Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. denied on May 21 that they are enmeshed in a Viagra price war but admitted they were offering the impotence pill at bargain-basement prices to woo customers.
Kmart captured attention May 20 with display advertisements in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today offering five-tablet prescriptions for $39.99, urging potential customers to “Restore your quality of life with Viagra” by visiting its 1,500 pharmacies.
Wal-Mart spokesman Bryan Holmberg says his company opted against placing any competing ads, content that its previously established “everyday low price” of $38.98 for five pills spoke for itself and was the lowest available anywhere.
“I’m not aware of any price war, but, if anyone has a lower price than we do, we’re willing to beat it,” Holmberg says, adding he was “delighted” with the number of patients buying the pills at Wal-Mart’s 2,329 U.S. pharmacies since the drug was launched in early April.
Neither Wal-Mart nor Kmart would disclose the wholesale price they pay for the diamond-shaped blue pills made by Pfizer Inc. but conceded their respective retail prices of $7.80 and $8 a tablet reflected a tiny profit.