Over the last two years, seeing stores plastered with "Going Out of Business" signs has become sadly commonplace. The COVID pandemic forced many companies to close up shop completely, and for those still remaining, the situation remains dire. Retailers are now struggling under the weight of rising inflation, with big names like Walmart and Target warning that a recession could be just around the corner. As financial hardships continue pushing hard against businesses, one popular chain has revealed plans to close several stores this month. Read on to find out which company is gearing up to shutter some locations.
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Many major companies have already closed locations this year.
iStockBusiness closures are hardly a rare occurrence these days. In March, Amazon announced that it would be taking an axe to all of its physical bookstores, pop-up shops, and "4-star" stores throughout the U.S. this year. By May, Walmart had closed a number of its locations throughout the country. And most recently in the first week of June, the beloved restaurant chain Howard Johnson's closed the doors at its last remaining location in Lake George, New York—marking the end of a restaurant that had been around for nearly a century.
Another popular chain is getting ready to close some of its stores.
Getty ImagesThe store closures aren't stopped there. Based on several local reports, CVS is gearing up to close several locations later this month. The popular drugstore chain's first closure is set for June 15, when a downtown CVS in Berkeley, California, will turn customers away, Berkeleyside recently reported. According to the news outlet, a sign on the store alerting residents about the closure was first posted on May 25 and just two days later, several of the shelves were already empty.
On June 16, the CVS on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will be permanently shut down, The Daily Tar Heel just reported. This closure will be followed up by a third store shutdown from the drugstore chain—this time in Coral Springs, Florida. According to TAPinto, a CVS spokesperson confirmed that its location at the northwest corner of Riverside Drive will only remain open until June 20.
CVS has already closed several stores this year.
ShutterstockThe upcoming closures are a sign that CVS is continuing work it began earlier this year. The drugstore chain has shuttered several locations in the first six months of 2022. This includes a CVS in Rockville, Maryland, which closed in April, and locations in Johnson City, New York; Charleston, South Carolina; and Westland, Michigan—all of which closed in May. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, a number of CVS locations in various Indiana and Illinois cities were closed by May as well: Whiting, Michigan City, Griffith Gary, East Chicago, and Valparaiso.
CVS has even also closed one store already in June. The planned June 7 closure of a location in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, caused major backlash for the company, as leaders and residents protested against the store being shuttered.
"Maintaining access to pharmacy services in historically underserved communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions," CVS said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. "Other factors include local market dynamics, cultural and language barriers, consumer buying patterns, a community's store density, and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations."
This is all part of a major overhaul for the company.
ShutterstockWhile CVS spokesperson Monica Prinzing told Berkeleyside it was a "difficult" decision to close the Berkeley location, the closure is in line with plans the company revealed last year. In Nov. 2021, CVS announced that it would be focusing on new store formats "to drive higher engagement with consumers." The company is now setting its sights on three distinct models: sites offering primary care services, HealthHUB locations with products and services for everyday health, and some remaining traditional CVS stores.
"The company has been evaluating changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs to ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business," CVS said in a statement last year.
In order to make these changes, CVS revealed that it would have to reduce its existing store density by closing certain locations. According to the company, approximately 300 CVS stores will be shuttered each year for the next three years. And the three new closures match up with the original plan for the start date of this initiative, which was set to begin in spring 2022.
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