I’ve always found it odd that where I live we’ve got a Walgreens and CVS right across the street from each other.  In other places, I’ve noticed them diagonally across intersections from each other.

Why is this?  Don’t you think you’d want to be far away from your competitor?  Who usually builds their store first in an area, and who’s the ‘copy cat’ who comes in after the prime spot’s been found?

I’m certainly not complaining, because I’m guessing that consumers, with another competing option so close by, come out as winners where this happens.

Obviously, store locations are heavily researched for population density and spending power, visibility and easy access; so I’m guessing it’s far from coincidence that the stores often wind up close by.   Even did a quick google search to see if some respectable, journalistic publication has ever addressed this question.  Didn’t come up with any definitive answers.

I guess it’s like the other age-old question, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?”   The world may never know…