The ‘Amazon Effect’ Is Slicing Into Bayer's U.S. Consumer Business
- Drugstore closures leave fewer shelves to put products on
- Dwindling stores depressing market growth, Glaxo says
Bayers' CEO Says Rapidly Shifting to Life Sciences
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Bayer AG, the 154-year-old creator of aspirin, has been ambushed by a growing force: online retailers like Amazon.com Inc.
The German drugmaker’s consumer-health division is struggling, with profit plummeting 17 percent in the third quarter. A big part of the reason is a shift in the U.S. to online shopping -- and discounts -- leaving a dwindling number of brick-and-mortar stores to sell Bayer’s products. Erica Mann, the division’s chief, called it the “Amazon effect,” saying buyers are shifting to e-commerce and looking for value.