Walgreens and CVS Are Closing More Locations, Starting Tomorrow
The two pharmacy chains are continuing with mass shutdowns.
Stores began dropping like flies once the pandemic hit, and while closures have certainly slowed, the retail apocalypse is far from over. This year alone, companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, Tuesday Morning, and Christmas Tree Shops have chosen to shut down completely, closing all of their stores in the process. Other business are staving off such drastic action by paring down their retail footprint. Even the two biggest pharmacy chains in the country, Walgreens and CVS, are in the midst of mass closures. Read on to find out where these companies are closing locations next.
RELATED: Grocery Chains, Including Walmart, Are Closing Stores.
CVS is closing one of its stores tomorrow.
Certain CVS customers in California are set to lose their local pharmacy this week. The company is planning to close one of its stores in Roseville, California, the Sacramento Business Journal first reported back in July. According to the news outlet, signs posted at the location on Pleasant Grove Blvd. in Roseville's Highland Crossing indicated that its closing date would be Aug. 16.
CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault told the Sacramento Business Journal that all prescriptions for the Highland Crossing store will be transferred to a nearby CVS on Foothills Blvd.
"Maintaining access to pharmacy services in the communities we serve is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions," Thibault said. "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."
RELATED: CVS Accused of "Intentionally Lying" to Customers About Their Prescriptions.
Walgreens is also shuttering two locations this month.
For its part, Walgreens is planning to close two separate locations this month. These closures will impact a store in Berkeley, California, Berkeleyside reported, and another in Robinwood, Maryland, The Herald-Mail reported. Both are slated to shutter permanently on Aug. 23.
The closing Berkeley Walgreens is located in a building that will soon be demolished to make room for a 25-story, 326-unit apartment building, according to Berkleyside.
Meanwhile, the closing Robinwood Walgreens, located on Meritus Health's medical campus, was recently at the center of a lawsuit between the pharmacy chain and the medical center, according to The Herald-Mail. Walgreens had sued the Meritus hospital after it opened its own pharmacy for the public, but the two settled the lawsuit out of court earlier this year.
"As we move forward on our strategy to expand Walgreens role as a leader in the delivery of local healthcare, we are focused on creating the right network of stores in the right locations to best meet the needs of the communities we serve," Walgreens spokesperson Marty Maloney told The Herald-Mail.
RELATED: Walgreens Store Bans Purses and Bags to Prevent Shoplifting—Will Others Follow?
Another CVS location is closing in September.
Like Walgreens, CVS is planning to close two of its stores in the coming weeks. But the company's second closure will take place next month.
CVS is closing a location in West Hartford, Connecticut, on Sept. 20, CT Insider reported. Thibault told the news outlet that the company had made the "difficult decision" to shutter its store on Farmington Avenue—noting that the same factors that were considered in the Roseville CVS closure were used for this decision.
Best Life reached out to CVS and Walgreens to get more information on the four upcoming closures, and we will update this story with their responses.
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Both companies have been working through mass closures.
CVS and Walgreens have been reducing their brick-and-mortar spaces for some time now.
In Nov. 2021, CVS Health announced plans for a major overhaul of its operations that included a mass amount of closures. At the time, the company said it was planning to "reduce store density in certain locations" by closing around 300 stores annually over the next three years for a total of approximately 900 closures.
"Our retail stores are fundamental to our strategy and who we are as a company," Karen S. Lynch, President and CEO of CVS Health, said in a statement. "We remain focused on the competitive advantage provided by our presence in thousands of communities across the country, which complements our rapidly expanding digital presence."
Walgreens has also been busy closing locations over the past year. And during a June earnings call with investors, Walgreens CFO James Kehoe revealed that the company is planning to close another 450 stores.
"We will continue to optimize our locations and opening hours, and expect to close an additional 300 locations in the U.K. and 150 locations in the U.S.," Kehoe said during the call.
