Walgreens Is Closing a 'Significant' Number of Stores

'We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2024 11:12 AM CDT
Walgreens Is Closing a 'Significant' Number of Stores
A Walgreens store in Bradenton, Florida.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Walgreens' stock plunged more than 20% in trading Thursday morning after the company reported disappointing earnings and slashed its profit outlook. The drugstore chain said it plans to cut a "significant" number of its more than 8,600 stores in the US, CNN reports. Walgreens has already closed more than 2,000 stores over the last decade. CEO Tim Wentworth said Thursday that a quarter of the remaining stores aren't profitable and a "significant portion" of them could close, reports the AP.

"We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require we approach the market differently," he said. Customers, Wentworth said, "have become increasingly selective and price sensitive in their purchases." He told CNBC that "the consumer is absolutely stunned by the absolute prices of things, and the fact that some of them may not be inflating doesn't actually change their resistance to the current pricing."

Wentworth told the Wall Street Journal that the locations the company will be taking a "hard look at" include those that are too close to each other and those most affected by theft. He said the chain hopes to reassign employees from closed locations. "We don't see this as an employee reduction, we see this as a footprint reduction," he said. The company has also been closing VillageMD clinics. Wentworth told CNBC that Walgreens is reducing its stake in the primary care network so "we can invest back in the retail pharmacy business that represents our future." (More Walgreens stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X