CVS announced it is closing a store in Kansas City as brick-and-mortar pharmacies across the country continue to close for various reasons.
The country’s largest pharmacy retail chain closed several hundred stores in the US in 2022 and 2023 and is expected to close another 300 stores in 2024.
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The company said the 2435 Independence Avenue store in northeast Kansas City will close next month.
Its last day of operation will be Thursday, June 13th.
The site manager said Northeast News “theft and rent” were the main reasons why the company decided to close the store.
In March, company CEO Karen Lynch told CBS News that some locations had to move products behind locked cages to prevent theft, even though she hated doing that.
Read more about store closures
‘RETAIL THEFT IS A BIG PROBLEM’
“Organized retail theft is a huge problem for us,” Lynch said at the time.
“They are coming in and emptying the shelves and then reselling them, she said.
Customers have already started receiving calls from the pharmacy to transfer prescriptions.
And employees were offered comparable roles within the company, company spokeswoman Amy Thibault told The US Sun on Friday.
“We will continue to provide the community with excellent service at our nearly 100 locations throughout the Kansas City metro area, including 20 in Kansas City,” Thibault said.
“We also offer prescription home delivery service to eligible patients through CVS.com and the CVS Pharmacy app to provide additional convenient access to medications.”
CVS said it plans to realign its national retail presence and reduce store density by about 900 stores.
“The realignment is based on our assessment of changes in population, consumer purchasing patterns and future health needs to ensure we have the right types of stores in the right locations for consumers,” she said.
“The realignment also supports the evolution of our stores into community health destinations.”
There are no other CVS pharmacy closures planned in Kansas City this year.
There are currently more than 100 CVS stores in the Kansas City metro area.
CVS has closed six Kansas City locations in the past two years.
Anthony Spalitto, whose family has run a nearby independent pharmacy, Spalitto’s Pharmacy, since 1929, told local Fox News affiliate WDAF-TV that around 30,000 customers will now have few options to fill their prescriptions.
“It’s crowded here. There aren’t many pharmacies,” said Spalitto.
US stores locking shelves to combat theft
Retailers have begun locking shelves to combat the rise in theft.
- Wal-Mart
- Target
- Walgreens
- CVS
- Duane Reade
- Help ritual
- dollar tree
- The home deposit
- Sephora
He said: “People will now have to drive further.
“Transportation will be difficult, especially if you live here. It’s about a 10-minute drive, approximately, depending on traffic.
“I think that’s what they’re going to have to do. Unless they transfer before closing, their scripts will automatically be sent there.”
Despite the large volume of planned closures, CVS reported strong earnings in the first quarter of 2024.
The company says its total revenue increased to $88.4 billion, a 3.7% increase from the previous year.
PHARMACY COURT
Earlier this year, CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens announced they would close 1,800 stores.
Various motives are to blame, including violent crimes and robberies.
In October 2023, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is in the process of closing 200 locations.
Walgreens announced plans to close 150 stores in June of last year.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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