Walgreens Plans To Close 150 Stores Across the U.S. and 300 Worldwide
Written by Grace Ballou on July 6, 2023
Walgreens, a one hundred-and twenty-two-year-old nationwide international chain, has plans to close 150 stores in the United States, and 300 stores in the United Kingdom.
Will the pharmacy chain close its only location in Cody anytime soon? That decision hasn’t been announced.
Walgreens has yet to disclose which U.S. stores will be shuttered but has said that the closings can be expected before the end of their fiscal year in May 2024, with over 500 personnel jobs being eliminated.
Walgreens Boots Alliance executive vice president and global chief financial officer James Kehoe shares that the closing will positively contribute to the company’s cost-saving initiatives. The pharmacy company’s net income from the past year come in at 59% lower than the previous year, with only $118 million. As a result, they failed to meet their high earning expectations, and necessary statistics, according to USA Today.
Kehoe reported that Walgreens has consequently lowered their earnings expectations for the new fiscal year. Numbers add to an objective of $3.3 million in 2023, with an addition of $800,000 in 2024 before the profuse closing of 150 stores around the nation.
And unexpected variable that Walgreens did not account for was the sudden loss of demand for COVID-19 vaccinations. The decline hit like a brick to the face, the quarter representing 83% less vaccinations than the year before. The mere 800,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, and sharp decrease in purchases of COVID tests proved to be an immense struggle for the company, and greatly impacted their monetary performance.
According to Rosalind Gates Brewer, the Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO, “We had called out COVID as a wildcard heading into the quarter and have unfortunately seen less patient willingness to vaccinate.”
Walgreens has modified their expectations for the sales of COVID tests and vaccinations as well as their plans for future distribution.
Brewer reported that currently has 1,000 locations with reduced store hours.
The CEO went on to say that the company predicts they will face “emerging challenges,” as a result of spending changes from the impact of nationwide alterations such as the resumption of student loan payments.
