CVS Pharmacy closes additional 22 stores

November 10, 2019 | 11:15

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The closure of an additional 22 pharmaceutical and retail stores by CVS Pharmacy cautions retail chains considering pursuing a rapid expansion strategy to respect the rising e-commerce.

cvs pharmacy closes additional 22 stores

CVS Pharmacy announced closing 22 more stores (Source: Businessinsider.com)

CVS Pharmacy, a subsidiary of the American retail and healthcare company CVS Health, will have to stop the operation of 22 more stores early next year, after closing 46 units early this year.

According to Eva Boratto, financial director of CVS Pharmacy, this decision is to maintain the operation of remaining stores in the upcoming time. In a previous interview last year, CVS director Larry Merlo said the company had plans to decrease the store volume in order to be able to focus on developing medical services.

However, in reality, the pharmaceuticals are facing great competition from e-commercial platforms as customers get into the habit of buying medicine online.

The two large pharmaceutical groups, Cosco and Instacart, have recently announced that they will pilot free delivery services for online orders in California and Washington.

The study of Coresight Reserch shows that CVS is not the only case which has to narrow the operation. Walgreens – which is one of the competitors of CVS – announced closing 200 stores.

Besides, a series of retail chains such as Dressbarn, Forever 21, and Kitchen Collection announced massive closures this year and Sears plans to close at least 122 Sears and Kmart stores in the US by January 2020.

Most recently, US fashion retailer Forever 21 officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to restructure its business after 35 years of success. This would include exiting most of its international locations in Asia and Europe, and continuing operations in Mexico and Latin America only.

Forever 21 has roughly 800 stores globally, 300-350 of which it will close, including 178 across the US, although they do not expect to exit any major markets in the country.

By Ha Vy

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