Pharmacy Chain with 145 Massachusetts Locations Announces “Significant Store Closings”

Massachusetts is a great place to live. Residents and visitors have their choice of city or county life, plenty of restaurants, and of course, plenty of shopping.

Massachusetts is home to an abundance of independent retailers from book stores, to sports equipment and gift shops. While small and family-owned businesses are a vital part of the state's economy, big box stores have their place in Massachusetts as well.

One of the nation's largest pharmaceutical chains, which has 147 locations in Massachusetts, has announced more store closures.

Walgreens Closing a Significant Amount of Under-Performing Stores in Massachusetts, Nationwide

Walgreens CEO told the Wall Street Journal that the company was finalizing a multi-year plan to close underperforming stores. The company has not announced a final number of stores closing, saying they're still reviewing numbers from a handful of stores deemed "not profitable".

While the CEO did not give that specific number, he said the Walgreens chain will close a “meaningful percent” of the locations in the coming years.

We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics which have eroded pharmacy margins. Our results and outlook reflect these headwinds, despite solid performance in both our International and U.S. Healthcare segments.

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth

via Bloomberg News

What locations of the Walgreens chain will eventually close is still unclear. Walgreens is not the first drugstore chain to face closures. Both CVS and Rite Aid have closed an abundance of stores throughout the U.S. over the past few years.