A Popular Retailer Now Plans To Shutter 150 Stores

October 31, 2023

A popular retailer now plans to shutter 150 stores by August 2024 with locations already beginning to close down this year.

“Pharmacy giant Walgreens has stated they plan to close 150 stores by the end of August 2024, and unfortunately for Massachusetts residents, one store in the state is closing next week,” reports Ash Jurberg.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to close your neighborhood Walgreens at 472 Lincoln St. in Worcester on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause but hope to make the transition as seamless as possible,” the company said in a statement.

Reuters reports that Walgreen is expected to cut at least $1 billion in costs for 2024.

The company plans to shut down unprofitable stores after Wall Street expectations for 2024 dropped significantly.

Walgreens has been affected by a steep drop in sales of COVID-19 products, persistently weak prescription drug demand, reported walkouts by its store staff and weak sales of its consumer health products due to high inflation.

“Our performance this year has not reflected WBA’s strong assets, brand legacy, or our commitment to our customers and patients,” Interim CEO Ginger Graham said in a statement.

“Walgreens has lost customer share in areas like beauty and personal care. Some of this is because prices remain too high and are uncompetitive – something more and more shoppers won’t tolerate in the current environment,” GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said.

Walgreens had said in June it would close its stores at 150 locations in the United States.

The company also named Tim Wentworth, a former Cigna executive, as permanent CEO on Tuesday.

As of today, shares of the pharmacy chain are down nearly -6% this month and more than -43% this year-to-date.

Also Read: A US Company Now Declares An Unexpected Bankruptcy

Other Economy News Today

Massive banks in Texas now announce closures for 2024 according to fresh data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

According to the OCC’s current weekly bulletin listing, the following Texas bank branches are permanently closing in 2024:

Wells Fargo 11152 S. Gessner Drive, Houston.

Bank of America 2601 Preston Road, Frisco; 13350 Dallas Pkwy, Dallas.

Capital One 2301 E. Riverside Drive, Austin; 2910 S. Lakeline Blvd., Cedar Park.

“No specific dates of closure have yet been listed, and it should be noted more Texas branch closures are expected to be announced in upcoming OCC bulletins,” reports Joel Eisenberg.

“The popularity of digital banking, inclusive of electronic payments and direct deposits, continues to be widely acknowledged by industry analysts as the primary factor in this regard.”

Bank of America recently listed bank closures in other areas of the country for 2024 as well as Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf recently rose attention during the company’s earnings call stating: “This company is not efficient – like, period. End of story.

Even with all of the reductions that we’ve made, it’s not surprising because as you peel the onion back, other things present themselves.”

Banks have stated that job cuts have also played an important role to weather strong recession conditions in 2024.

But Texas is not the only state facing mass bank closures.

Wells Fargo revealed last Friday that several branches would be closing in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Florida, Texas, and Alabama.

California also continues to be heavily affected, with both large and regional bank branches permanently shuttering this year.

According to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), approximately 8,000 banks were in operation in 2000, but by 2022, this figure was halved.

Also Read: Banks Are Now Closing Thousands of Accounts Daily

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