Have stopped in twice to the new Rexall in St Albert, and both times found I was the only customer…read morein the store! The first time, I actually thought it was closed because there were no cars in the parking lot, although the cashier assured me it would be filled with Earl's customers cars by lunchtime - well, well, isn't that lucky for Earls? :-D
The store feels quite spacious, perhaps because of no one else there, but it's clean and well lit and very tidy. I went with the intent of comparing several items with Shoppers Drug and Target, both in price and width of brands. On each item, Rexall was 15-25% more expensive, which doesn't encourage me to drop by just to browse. I did find the employees friendly and helpful, but again I had no competition for their attention. Twice I picked up an item marked on sale, but the computer rang it up at full price and the cashier didn't know the difference, so caveat emptor when you check out.
I'm not sure what to think about this store. It's in a central location, across from the mall, plenty of parking, flyers sent weekly to each resident in town, bright attractive building, well-established name and reputation, yet it feels abandoned. And because of their price points, unlikely to get my steady business as well. For me, it's just not a likely competitor for Shoppers or London (or Target, Walmart, etc).