Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

The Freedom RightThe Freedom Right

Stock

Walgreens to close 1,200 stores over the next three years

Walgreens said Tuesday it plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years as it seeks to further downsize its footprint amid flagging sales and changing consumer behavior.

The pharmacy chain said 500 of the closings would occur over the next 12 months. It estimates a quarter of its 8,700 stores in the U.S. are unprofitable.

Walgreens announced the closures as part of its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, which beat Wall Street’s expectations. In a statement, CEO Tim Wentworth acknowledged the company was in the midst of a ‘turnaround’ that would ‘take time.’

‘We are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term,” Wentworth said.

In June, Walgreens said it planned to close a “significant” number of its underperforming stores by 2027. Tuesday’s announcement appears to be the company’s first exact estimate of how many locations it will shutter.

Both Walgreens and rival CVS are facing a difficult operating environment, fighting to be profitable as consumers shift their habits.

In 2021, CVS said it would close about 900 stores, or about 10% of its U.S. locations, from 2022 to 2024. Rite Aid recently emerged from bankruptcy and will operate as a privately owned company.

Pharmacy chains have been squeezed in part by changes to the prescription drug market, including lower reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the third-party companies that manage prescription drug benefits for health insurance companies.

PBMs have been recently accused of inflating drug costs and are the target of multiple legislative and regulatory reforms and actions.

The end result has been a greater number of ‘pharmacy deserts’ across the U.S.

“The retail pharmacy industry is going through a period of soul-searching, trying to understand the best model to reach the consumer,” Neil Saunders, GlobalData’s retail managing director, told CNBC in August.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Enter Your Information Below To Receive Latest News, And Articles.

    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    You May Also Like

    Investing

    Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 81, defended President Biden, 80, against voter critiques that he lacks the energy and vigor to continue leading the United...

    Investing

    Political advisers to both President Biden and Vice President Harris were reportedly annoyed with Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom over a planned debate with...

    Editor's Pick

    By the IoT Analytics team. A new report from IoT Analytics highlights eight notable trends helping to advance and promote digital twins. Four of...

    Stock

    A second delivery driver has died in Texas amid record-high temperatures, just as the regulation of workplace heat safety enters a new legal limbo...

    Disclaimer: thefreedomright.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2020-2024 The Freedom Right. All Rights Reserved