Walgreens will close 1,200 stores nationwide to cut billions of dollars in costs.
With one in four Walgreens stores deemed unprofitable, the drugstore corporation will be shutting 500 locations in 2025 and around 1,200 over the next three years. For context, the chain has around 8,700 locations across the U.S.
While this isn’t exactly news, as the company announced closures in June, Walgreens didn’t disclose the number of stores until recently.
Low consumer spending and high inflation have reportedly forced the store to consider a more profitable operating model. While cost-cutting through store closures is certainly not the most ideal solution, Walgreens feels forced to make it in light of recent earnings: Just last quarter, Walgreens reported a net loss of $3 billion.
Other drugstore companies like CVS have been enduring similar struggles.
According to NPR, CVS and Walgreens have pursued other avenues to profit, such as opening primary-care clinics, rolling out new payout structures for prescriptions, and shifting priorities to match consumer needs. Walgreens, specifically, is also aiming to sell more store-brand products.
“I’m very confident that over a two- to three-year period, we will have reset the framework for reimbursement discussions,” said Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens. “Many of our actions across this turnaround will take time.”
As for the countless employees losing their jobs amid closures? Wentworth said he hopes to re-hire them at other stores.
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The post You Might Need to Find a New Pharmacy: Walgreens Is Closing 1,200 Stores appeared first on VICE.
