London Drugs in Vancouver’s DTES closes down

The London Drugs location in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is officially closing its doors.

The retail pharmacy chain announced that it has ended its lease in the Woodward’s Building on the intersection of West Hastings Street and Abbott Street.

London Drugs says that issues of theft, violence, and vandalism have made the location financially unviable.

The B.C.-based retailer says the location has lost 10s of millions of dollars to theft since its opening in 2009.

“Significantly more than any other location in our 80-year history,” London Drugs president and chief operating officer Clint Mahlman told 1130 NewsRadio.

“That is just unsustainable. We have been willing to do that for the spirit of the community, for a very long time.”

Mahlman says that support from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), including targeted patrols and a neighbourhood liaison officer, helped reduce violence against staff.

While grateful for the police support, he says it is too little and too late.

“They are just one cog of the justice system, and so they can only do so much as they crack down there,” Mahlman explained.

“We saw repeat offenders show up and elsewhere in the Lower Mainland and in Vancouver, and that’s a key part of the issue. The justice system, outside of what the police can do, needs to deal with these repeat offenders that are causing so much crime.”

About a year ago, the location was already being considered for closure. Back then, Mahlman said that the store hemorrhaged over $10 million since 2009.

“The exceptional cost to keep that store safe from our loss prevention team has made it financially unviable, and we don’t see enough changes that will change that projection in the future,” Mahlman told 1130 NewsRadio.

Vancouver City Coun. Peter Meiszner lives in the area, and he says that TD Bank and JJ Beans are other businesses that have pulled out of the area in recent years.

He adds that the loss of another business is frustrating.

Vancouver City Coun. calls on province to prevent crime

“I know what a resource that is for that community, and I really worry about the closure of such a large anchor tenant and what that could do to the decline that we’ve seen in the neighbourhood,” Meiszner said.

He calls on the province for intervention.

“We have done quite a bit in terms of increasing policing resources in the neighbourhood. We have opened a new community policing centre in the building, but those challenges persist, and they are really bigger than the city’s jurisdiction,” Meiszner explained.

VPD Sgt. Steve Addison promises that police presence will be maintained in the area.

“We have made progress. There’s more work to do, not just by the police but by the entire community, and we are going to, as a police agency, be there for the long haul,” he said.

London Drugs says that the location is expected to close its doors on Feb. 1 and that its 90 employees will have the chance to transition to other Vancouver locations.