It seems like any time you go to the store these days, you could be greeted with a sign informing you that it's closing permanently soon. And that's not just in your head: Store closures are hardly a rare occurrence. A record 12,200 stores closed across the U.S. in 2020 as a result of both the COVID pandemic and the new push toward e-commerce, according to Fortune. Now, one company that's already had its fair share of closures is shuttering even more locations. Read on to find out what popular retail chain just confirmed permanent closures later this month.
READ THIS NEXT: This Popular Supermarket Chain Is Closing All of Its Pharmacies.
Several companies have already announced closures for September.
Adam Webb / iStockSeptember is already shaping up to be a big month for store closures. A total of 89 in-store pharmacies at Save Mart and Lucky supermarkets in California and Nevada are gearing up to close, with News 4-Fox 11 reporting that at least two closures in Nevada will occur at the start of the month.
In Illinois, a Bloomingdale's in Skokie will start closing down on Sept. 6, CBS News reported. And the popular sports chain Olympia Sports has already confirmed that it plans to shutter all of its remaining retail stores—a total of 35 locations across the country—by the end of September.
But the closures aren't stopping there: Another major retail chain just confirmed that it's shuttering several locations.
Prepare to lose more of these pharmacies.
iStockCVS is closing several locations in the coming weeks, the Dayton Daily News reported on Aug. 31. According to the newspaper, the popular drugstore chain is permanently shuttering four locations in the greater Dayton, Ohio, area. The closures will affect stores in the following cities: Fairborn, Moraine, Brookville, and New Lebanon. They will be closing on staggered dates between Sept. 21 and Oct. 5, per the Dayton Daily News.
"All prescriptions are being seamlessly transferred to nearby CVS Pharmacy locations, ensuring uninterrupted patient service," Amy Thibault, a spokeswoman for the company, told the newspaper. "We can accommodate 100 percent of colleagues impacted by these decisions, all of whom have been offered comparable roles at our other nearby locations.”
CVS has already closed several stores in this state.
ShutterstockOhio has been hit hard with CVS closures this year. Back in February, the Dayton Daily News reported that the drugstore chain had closed a store in Kettering, the city's largest suburb. And just a few months later, another CVS in Kettering was shuttered, alongside a location in Harrison Township. Most recently, the company permanently shut down a CVS store in Hamilton, according to the Dayton Daily News.
"Maintaining access to pharmacy services in our communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions," Thibault told the newspaper. "Other factors include local market dynamics, population shifts, 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."
These closures are part of a nationwide initiative from the drugstore chain.
ShutterstockThe CVS closures aren't just impacting Ohio, however. Over the past several months, the drugstore chain has closed stores all across the U.S., in states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia—just to name a few. And that's hardly surprising given the company's stated plans. Back in Nov. 2021, CVS revealed that it would be closing around 900 stores over the next three years as part of an initiative to implement a "new retail footprint strategy aligned to evolving consumer needs."
CVS confirmed that the closures would start in spring 2022, with around 300 stores being shuttered each year. In a statement to the Dayton Daily News, the company said the decision to close stores over the course of the next three years "follows a deep analytical look at changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs." Simply put, CVS said it "needs to ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business."
