Walgreens has shuttered stores across at least a dozen states, including New York and New Jersey, as part of a multiyear plan to cut costs and close underperforming locations.
The Chicago-based pharmacy chain first announced plans in October 2024 to close roughly 1,200 underperforming stores over the next three years – including 500 locations in 2025 alone – in an effort to slash $1 billion in costs.
But last year, after the company went private following an acquisition by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners, it pared back those plans and now expects to close fewer than 100 stores this year, according to Inc.com.
So far this year, Walgreens has shuttered more than a dozen locations across California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin, as well as two in New Jersey’s Bergen County and one in Brooklyn.
Even with the closures, Walgreens – which boasts roughly 8,500 stores nationwide – is still the country’s second-largest pharmacy chain.
What should you do if your store closes?
Walgreens has said that customers of impacted stores do not need to take any action to transfer their prescriptions to another location, since all its pharmacies nationwide have access to customers’ prescription, insurance and medication records.
Customers are able to refill their prescriptions at another Walgreens location or select prescription delivery options.
Affected customers will be eligible for 90 days of free prescription delivery service following the closures, the company said.
Why is Walgreens closing stores?
The pharmacy giant’s multiyear downsizing effort is an attempt to focus on its most lucrative locations and boost profit.
In 2024, when the company announced the plan, Walgreens execs told analysts that one in four of its stores are unprofitable.
Walgreens has been hit hard by weaker retail sales and low drug reimbursement rates, which is the amount of money that pharmacies are paid for dispensing prescription medications to patients.
As the company shutters locations, it is focusing on stores with expiring leases, underperforming sales and ongoing theft problems.
Walgreens did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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