Walgreens To Close 200 Stores

Walgreens has announced plans to close 200 U.S. stores, according to WCVB, shortly after completing its purchase of European drugstore chain Alliance Boots.

As part of an aggressive cost-reducing plan, Walgreens Boots Alliance is aiming to reduce their expenses by $1.5 billion over a three-year span rather than their first $1 billion plateau.

With slightly more locations, but lower sales numbers than CVS, Walgreens is the largest U.S. drugstore chain by number of locations with 8,232 stores across all 50 states of the U.S.  In addition to purchasing Alliance Boots for $5.3 billion, it also bought a chain of New York pharmacies, Duane Reade, for $1.1 billion, adding another 257 stores to its portfolio.

Retail store closures are getting familiar and frequent with other chains like Staples, Office Depot, Sears, RadioShack and Wet Seal, planning to close undisclosed locations. “Walgreens said plans for closings are still being finalized and no time frame has been set for when the closings will occur,” according to WCVB.