Walgreens and CVS are Planning to Close Thousands of Stores

For years it seemed like there was a Walgreens of CVS Pharmacy location on every street corner. Perhaps the only store with more locations was Starbucks. But the pharmaceutical world is changing and both Walgreens and CVS are making plans to close thousands of locations.

Walgreens announced in late June that they would be closing a large number of its nearly 8600 locations in the United States. CNN reports that Walgreens didn't announce a specific number of stores that would be closed, but Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth stated that changes are imminent for nearly 25% of stores that are no longer profitable. You do the math. That could mean the closure of thousands of Walgreens locations.

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So why are these pharmaceutical chains making changes? Because America is changing the way it buys prescription drugs. Audacy reports that Walgreens and CVS are reinventing their business model. Walgreens plans to rebuild around more expensive prescription drugs. Audacy reports that pills and capsules people get are mostly generic and cost pennies. Walgreens wants to specialize in drugs that are infused like cancer medications, Ozempic, and HUMIRA.

CVS is planning on moving away from retail stores and into in-store clinics, according to Audacy. These locations will be staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners. Audacy stated that more people are getting prescriptions online through places like Amazon, and the front-of-store market for snacks, candy, and convenience store items just isn't there. When will these store closures and changes happen? Walgreens has said that it plans to have the closures done by 2027.