CVS Health announced on Thursday that it will be closing certain pharmacies located within Target stores. The closures are scheduled to take place early in 2024, commencing in February and concluding by April. Amy Thibault, the lead director of communications for CVS, stated to Nexstar that employees at the affected locations “will be offered comparable roles within the company.”
The exact number of locations involved is not yet clear, but The Wall Street Journal reported that the plan involves “dozens” of pharmacies.
CVS is not sharing a list of closing locations, and any prescriptions will be transferred to a nearby CVS Pharmacy beforehand “to ensure patients have uninterrupted access to pharmacy care.”
Thibault explained that the closures are part of a strategic plan to “realign our national retail footprint and reduce store and pharmacy density.” The decision was made after CVS conducted an evaluation of changes in population, purchasing patterns, and anticipated future health needs. The goal is to match the appropriate pharmacy format with the right patient locations.
CVS is not the only pharmacy business making such decisions. Rite Aid had announced the closure of over 150 locations in October of the previous year, and in June 2023, Walgreens declared the closure of 150 stores in the U.S. and an additional 300 in the U.K. CVS Health announced
In 2021, CVS Health had also announced plans to close 900 stores over three years, citing similar reasons such as changes in population, consumer buying patterns, and evolving health needs.
It’s worth noting that CVS Health had acquired Target’s pharmacy and clinic businesses in 2015 for approximately $1.9 billion, initially bringing 1,672 pharmacies into the CVS network.