Walgreens pushes forward with plans to close stores
The wrestling pharmacy giant previously announced plans to close more than a thousand stores by 2027. The newest scale-back doomed five locations in California.
Shop managers in Whittier, Los Angeles, Orange, Placentia and Stanton, California received reporting that their stores will close permanently.
All five stores will close at the end of March. Walgreens hopes to transfer 93 affected employees to nearby locations.
“It is never an easy decision to close a store,” Marty Maloney, a director of media relationships for the Pharmacy brand, told The Los Angeles Daily News.
'We know that our stores are important for the communities that we serve and therefore do everything possible to improve the performance of the store. When closures are needed, such as those here in California, we will work with stakeholders of the community to minimize the disruptions of customers. '
The company did not immediately respond to Daily Mail for comment.
Almost every pancake chain in the US has drawn up plans to close national stores. But the struggles of Walgreens are particularly pronounced.
Walgreens announced a series of closures in California
Walgreens works as a traditional pharmacy in an industry that is increasingly being influenced by technological progress and changes in customers' behavior.
The retail model in its pharmacies is two -time: the stores attract customers by fulfilling instructions and at the same time offering a bit of home items at higher prices than large -scale stores.
But customers change their habits.
Instead of opting for more expensive physical purchases, Americans are increasingly buying online items online.
Delivery services on prescription are also becoming increasingly popular, which reduces foot traffic in dozens of Walgreens stores.
Both changes in the economy have threatened the Bottom Line from Walgreens. But the company is perhaps less skilled on changes compared to its rivals.
CVS, the biggest competitor, has a larger scale and gives the brand a larger lever to negotiate prices with insurers and care providers.
Walgreens operated around 8,000 before the Lei van closures. CVS has more than 9,000.
Walgreens has operated thousands of stores with recipeful filling and retail sales models
The CEO of the company said he hopes to change the fortunes of the company with a series of cost -saving measures – including more than a thousand store closures
Walgreens is also more dependent on retail -essential supplies such as snacks and household goods – a business segment that has lost profitability.
Front-end sales represent more than a quarter of Walgreens's retail activities. CFS reported that only 21 percent of its turnover comes from consumer goods.
An spotlight seemed in the industry in October 2023, when another competitor, Rite Aid, signed up bankruptcy.
The company is struggling with increasing debts and lawsuits about its alleged contribution to the Opioid epidemic, stopped 150 'underperforming' stores after submitting.
Rite Aid has since emerged from the bankruptcy, but also has a greatly reduced retail person.
There are now around 2,000 rite assocations in the US
The CEO of Walgreens, Tim Wentworth, said that the brand has turned off a turnaround and did not expect to submit bankruptcy.
Nevertheless, the share price of the company acts around the 30-year lows and fell by 65 percent last year.
“This change will take time, but we are convinced that it will produce considerable financial and consumer benefits in the long term,” said Wentworth in a statement.
