(DailyDig.com) – Drugstore giants Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid are restructuring their businesses by eliminating hundreds of locations owing to issues including opioid-related litigation and increased competition. Because of this, millions of Americans will live in areas that lack a drugstore. Earlier this month, Rite Aid announced it would shut down 150 of its nearly 2,100 stores in the nation after filing for bankruptcy.
Over the last two years, Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid have all made noises about closing over 1,500 shops between them. The effects on public health have been seen. One in nearly four communities is described as “pharmacy deserts,” according to Professor Dima Qato of the University of Southern California. Those who most need pharmacies are bearing the brunt of these closures.
National pharmacy stores have needed to restructure for some time now owing to low levels of investment in individual stores, rising retail crime and theft, insufficient staffing levels, and changing customer preferences.
GlobalData Retail’s managing director, Neil Saunders, said that the economics of operating such businesses have just broken down, and they are no longer profitable. Shops are trying to get rid of them.
Even though CVS moved products behind barriers to deter theft, sales dropped by almost 2% in the most recent quarter, while sales at Rite Aid dropped by 4.4%. Both Walmart and Amazon have developed their own in-house medical care services and pharmacies, and they often have lower prices on numerous basics for the home than their competitors.
Saunders pointed out that pharmacies hurt themselves by not investing in their pharmacy workers, which may lead to a loss of consumers due to poor service and longer wait times for their medicines. Due to rising demands on already understaffed workers and terrible working conditions, pharmacy workers have also staged walkouts.
Consumers, however, have more alternatives than just Walgreens and CVS, according to experts. Saunders stated that new competitors had entered the market due to the growth of supermarkets and the arrival of discount stores like Dollar General and Walmart.
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