Walgreens announced on Tuesday that it will be closing 1,200 stores in the United States amid the company’s struggle to compete with other online companies and a decrease in prescription drug sales.
According to CNN, Walgreens is expected to close roughly 500 stores in 2025. By 2027, approximately one out of every seven current Walgreens locations will be closed. The company’s disclosure of its plan to close 1,200 stores in three years comes after Walgreens announced over the summer that a “significant” number of its stores would be closing since roughly 25% of its locations were not profitable.
CNN reported that Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth warned that “imminent” changes would be implemented by the company. The outlet noted that while Walgreens had a better sales report during the last quarter, the company suffered a $3 billion loss after the value of its majority stake decreased in CareCitrix, which is a Chinese pharmaceutical chain.
Addressing the company’s financial plan for the next few years, Wentworth said, “This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term.”
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Neil Saunders, the managing director of Global Data Retail, told CNN that the latest set of closures is “emblematic of a company that is in trouble and is trying to course correct.”
“Walgreens spent years building its business through acquisitions and neglected the fundamentals of its stores and its retail operations,” Saunders added. “That has pushed a lot of outlets into a position where they are losing sales and are not generating a return.”
According to The Post Millennial, despite the company’s financial struggles, Wentworth recently told analysts that approximately 6,000 of the roughly 8,500 Walgreens locations in the United States are currently profitable. He explained, “This solid base supports our conviction in a retail pharmacy led model that is relevant to our consumers, and we intend to invest in these stores over the next several years.”
