Walgreens plans to close more stores in the United States: everything we know about the closures
Walgreens is set to close a significant number of stores in the United States, as well as reduce its stake in primary-care provider VillageMD.
Walgreens is planning to close a significant number of underperforming stores throughout the country. The announcement follows the report released by its parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance on its 2024 third quarter fiscal results which showed it missing earnings estimates.
In a statement to USA Today, a Walgreens spokesperson said they are shifting their strategy, after the below-par performance of 25% of its stores.
As a result, the company is moving to shutter a substantial number of these branches over the next three years.
The company has been struggling with lower earnings in the face of consumers who continue to be battered by high prices, and it has also been besieged by labor problems.
Workers at over 500 locations including pharmacists and technicians staged walkouts in October last year to demand that the company address what they said were harsh working conditions, saying that they were overworked. They said that staff members being overstretched could result in a lower quality of service, thereby possibly harming the health of their customers.
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How many locations will Walgreens shut down?
Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth told the Wall Street Journal that the company has not yet decided exactly how many of their stores will be closed.
The pharmacy chain has around 8,700 locations in the United States and a total of more than 12,500 across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.
Aside from closing stores, Walgreens will also reduce its interest in primary-care provider VillageMD, per WSJ. The company’s fiscal report also indicates that it will simplify and focus their health care portfolio.
Wentworth said the company will aim to re-assign its workers so that the store closures will not result in too many people losing their jobs.