Sponsored By

Walgreens will close 150 stores

Move comes after disappointing Q3 results

Bill Wilson, Senior editor at Supermarket News

June 30, 2023

1 Min Read
Walgreens_drugstore-front_1.jpg
During its third quarter financial call earlier this week, Walgreens Boots Alliance softened its fiscal year projections.Walgreens

Walgreens has announced that it will close 150 stores in the U.S. this year — this comes on the heels of posting a disappointing Q3.

During its third quarter financial call earlier this week, Walgreens Boots Alliance softened its fiscal year projections after the demand for COVID-19 immunizations and tests, as well as respiratory seasonal sales, was not as high as expected. 

The Northbrook, Ill.-based company’s adjusted operating income is at $3.2 billion — a drop of over 26% on a constant currency basis. 

Additionally, the company’s healthcare segment, which includes primary-care provider VillageMD and urgent care provider Summit Health, had a $113 million loss in the third quarter mainly due to the cost of expansion of VillageMD (93 more clinics were added year-over-year) and a decline in visits at Summit Health. A lighter-than-normal respiratory season kept Summit Health from seeing growth.

The company is now in a conservative mode, and announced during the financial call that it plans to raise savings from $3.5 billion to $4.1 billion. That will require making some budgetary cuts.

Earlier in the year, Walgreens announced it was cutting corporate staff by about 10%, or 504 roles. All the cuts were to take place at the Deerfield and Chicago offices.

Related:Walgreens takes over clinical trials sector with CVS departure

Compounding the financial strain is the growing number of opioid settlements. In June both CVS and Walgreens agreed to pay a multistate settlement of $17.3 billion over the next 15 years.
 

 

Read more about:

Walgreens Boots Alliance

About the Author

Bill Wilson

Senior editor at Supermarket News

Bill Wilson is the senior editor at Supermarket News, covering all things grocery and retail. He has been a journalist in the B2B industry for 25 years. He has received two Robert F. Boger awards for his work as a journalist in the infrastructure industry and has over 25 editorial awards total in his career. He graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a major in broadcast communications.

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like