It seems like any time you go to the store these days, you could be greeted with a sign informing you that it’s closing permanently soon. And that’s not just in your head: Store closures are hardly a rare occurrence.
A record 12,200 stores closed across the U.S. in 2020 as a result of both the COVID pandemic and the new push toward e-commerce. Now, one company that’s already had its fair share of closures is shuttering even more locations.
According to reports, around 900 CVS stores will be shut down until 2025, with around 300 giving their last breath in 2022.
The company also aims to invest more in financial technologies and come up with flexible methods of payments, as well as a wide array of check-out options, enhanced pick-up-in-store orders, and other features to boost their e-commerce sales and contribute to the brand’s digitalization.
The closures are part of a broader realignment of the retail strategy of its roughly 10,000 locations. That includes remodeling some stores to include more health services, such as primary care and an “enhanced version” of its HealthHub layout.
“We remain focused on the competitive advantage provided by our presence in thousands of communities across the country, which complements our rapidly expanding digital presence,” said CVS CEO Karen Lynch. She joined the company a year ago.
The closures will cost the company about $1 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of 2021. Affected employees will be offered jobs at nearby locations.
Neil Saunders, retail industry analyst and managing director of GlobalData, said in a note to investors that the closures are the result of CVS having “too many overlapping locations” and the dilapidated state of its stores that has “pushed some of them into the downward spiral of irrelevance.”
“Too many stores are stuck in the past with bad lighting, depressing interiors, messy merchandising, and a weak assortment of products. They are not destinations or places where people go out of anything other than necessity,” Saunders said.
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Source: AWM
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Author: staff
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