Walgreens plans to shutter several stores amid concerns over profitability, recognizing its "need to change" as part of the company's redirection.
CEO Tim Wentworth did not elaborate on an exact number of store closures, but said the pharmaceutical chain is considering a "meaningful percent" of its 8,600 stores across the nation that are underperforming following a strategy review, he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview Thursday.
"We recognize where we are is a turnaround," Wentworth told the outlet. "We recognize that we need to be focused on what are the parts of the business that we believe are contributing and have a future, and some of those need to change."
The closures would mean minimal job loss, he claimed, framing the move as a company restructuring. Most workers would be shuffled to other stores.
"We don't see this as an employee reduction, we see this as a footprint reduction," he clarified.
Walgreens has suffered significant earnings losses, Wentworth said, losing customers to Amazon.com and other competitors. It has also experienced dramatic cuts in profits from prescription drugs. Theft has also been a major issue, and "investing in public safety so that our customers and employees feel safe" is a top priority in restructuring.
While retail pharmacy remains key to their brand and "enables many other things... it has to change," said Wentworth.
