An essential retailer now announces more painful closures stating that a ‘meaningful percent’ of its 8,600 stores will shutter.
Walgreens has announced the mass closure of thousands of stores as the retailer’s CEO changes strategy.
Tim Wentworth, the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance has revealed that a “meaningful percent” of the chain’s 8,600 locations will close.
The news was confirmed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal which saw Wentworth admit that the struggling retailer needs a strategy overhaul.
While the precise number of locations earmarked for closure has not yet been decided upon, around a quarter of the chain’s stores are being assessed as they fail to perform for the company.
It comes after Walgreens Boots Alliance announced the closure of 150 Walgreens locations last year to “optimize profitability.”
In a bid to compete with rival chains like CVS, the company increased its focus on giving primary care to patients.
The pharmacy chain announced in October 2021 that it would invest $5.2 billion into primary care provider VillageMD to “remodel itself as a healthcare provider” which saw plans to introduce doctors’ offices to drugstores.
However, in February this year, Walgreens shuttered all of its VillageMD clinics in Florida leaving customers concerned about other locations.
Now, Wentworth has revealed that Walgreens will be pulling back on its stake in VillageMD, meaning it will no longer be the majority owner.
“We recognize where we are is a turnaround,” Wentworth told the news outlet.
“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.”
The retailer’s stock plummeted by more than 14% after its earnings report failed to meet expectations.
Walgreens has been forced to alter its outlook for profits for the year amid a “challenging” time for the pharmaceutical industry and a “worse-than-expected U.S. consumer environment.”
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Also Read: An Unexpected Retailer Is Now Closing All Stores in Illinois
Other Economy News Today
An unexpected restaurant now abruptly closes 7 locations in one state after revealing plans to shutter a total of 36.
TGI Fridays is closing a total of seven restaurants in one state as part of the company’s ongoing growth strategy.
This comes after the chain abruptly closed 36 locations across 12 states in at the beginning of the year, per The-Sun.
The restaurant chain will pull the plug on seven locations across the state of New Jersey in the coming weeks.
Today, Fridays will welcome in famished diners at its location in Brick for the final time.
“As we continue along our path of transformation to revitalize the Fridays brand and implement a long-term growth strategy, we see a bright future for TGI Fridays,” said Weldon Spangler, CEO of TGI Fridays earlier this week.
“We are at the helm of a pivotal moment that will allow us to explore boundless advancement, expansion, and innovation to keep delivering ‘That Fridays Feeling’ that our fans know and love.”
Before the closures, TGI Fridays had about 270 US locations, according to the company’s website.
“As part of the store closures, TGI Fridays is offering more than 1,000 transfer opportunities, which represents over 80% of total impacted employees,” the company previously said in a statement.
“Our top priority has always been delivering a superior experience for each and every TGI Fridays guest, and we’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet – and exceed – on that brand promise,” said Ray Risley, US president and chief operating officer, in the release.
Eight other locations were sold to former CEO Ray Blanchette, a longtime stakeholder who will acquire the previously corporate-owned restaurants.
The sale comes as major changes have been made to the brand’s leadership, including the news of Weldon Spangler being made CEO.
“As we continue along our path of transformation to revitalize the Fridays brand and implement a long-term growth strategy, we see a bright future for TGI Fridays,” said Spangler in a statement.
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