Group items tagged

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of high street pharmacy Boots, plans to close 1,200 stores in the United States over the next three years in response to a slowdown in consumer spending and low drug reimbursement rates. As reported by The Times, the closures are part of a strategy by new CEO Tim Wentworth to restore growth for the group, which runs over 8,700 stores in the US and 2,000 Boots pharmacies in the UK. Wentworth described the 2025 financial year, which started last month, as a crucial "rebasing year" for the company. He expressed confidence that, although the turnaround will take time, it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits in the long term. The announcement of the store closures coincided with the release of the fourth-quarter results, which slightly exceeded Wall Street's lowered estimates. Walgreens' stock, which has declined by 65 per cent this year and is now trading near 30-year lows, rose by $1.44, or 16 per cent, closing at $10.44 on Wall Street.

Despite significant sales growth in the quarterly results, high street chemist Boots is moving forward with its plan to close 300 stores in the UK. The move, aimed at improving profit margins amid rising costs and competition, will reduce the chain's portfolio from around 2,200 to just 1,900. Last month, the U.S.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Boots, announced upcoming store closures within the next year. However, the company assured that there will be no job losses as all employees will be given the opportunity to be redeployed to nearby shops. The following sites are confirmed for closure on the specified dates: Heathside Rd, Woking (end of July) UEA campus (end of July) Hamlet Ct Rd, Westcliff-on-Sea (August 1) Windhill Road, Wakefield (October 6) Upper Warrengate, Wakefield (October 7) Glastonbury (October 13) Guildford Road, Woking (end of October) Boots stores at Salford Shopping Centre in Greater Manchester, Church Street in Malvern, The Port Arcades Shopping Centre in Ellesmere, and King William Street in London have already closed since spring.

The employees from large drugstore chains staged an additional walkout at stores this week from 1 Nov to 3 Nov. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacists launched a three-day walkout to push companies to hire more staff and improve working conditions. The majority of pharmacy workers in Kansas City called in sick or walked off the job as they felt it was harder to work with "minimal" help. Licenced pharmacist, Amanda Applegate, who is also a Director of practise development with the Kansas Pharmacists Association spoke on the plight of the pharmacists. "This is a nationwide problem that pharmacists have been internally yelling about for years."