The financially troubled Walgreens pharmacy chain is planning to close a substantial number of its U.S. stores over the next few years.
In a Wall Street Journal interview, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) CEO Tim Wentworth said the company is reviewing roughly one-quarter of its roughly 8,600 locations and could close a “meaningful percent” during the next few years. Wentworth said the company did not settle on a specific number of stores to be shuttered.
“We recognize where we are is a turnaround,” Wentworth said. “We recognize that we need to be focused on what are the parts of the business that we believe are contributing and have a future, and some of those need to change.”
Wentworth said the company is conducting a strategy review to determine the possible candidates for store closures, with an emphasis on areas where there are multiple locations close to one another. He stated the company also plans to reduce its majority stake in the VillageMD primary care provider, but he added the company has no plans to jettison is overseas pharmacy chain Boots or its Sheilds Health Solutions specialty pharmacy firm.
“Retail pharmacy is central to our future and to our overall customer and patient experience. It enables many other things, but it has to change,” he said.
Photo: Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons
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