(NEXSTAR) – CVS Health revealed Thursday that it will close “select” pharmacies located inside Target stores.
The closures will occur in early 2024, starting in February and ending in April, Amy Thibault, CVs’ senior communications director, told Nexstar in a statement. “Employees in those locations will be offered similar roles within the company.”
The exact number of sites involved is not yet clear, but the Wall Street Journal reported that the plan includes “dozens” of pharmacies.
CVS does not share a list of closure locations, and any prescriptions will be transferred to a nearby CVS pharmacy in advance “to ensure patients have uninterrupted access to pharmaceutical care.”
Thibault said the closures are part of a plan to “reorganize our national retail footprint and reduce the density of stores and pharmacies.” The decision came after CVS evaluated changes in demographics, purchasing patterns and future health needs while trying to match the right pharmacy format with the right locations for patients, she said.
CVS isn’t the only drugstore company to close its locations, as Rite Aid announced in October of last year that more than 150 locations would be closing. In June 2023, Walgreens announced that it would close 150 stores in the United States and another 300 in the United Kingdom.
In 2021, CVS itself announced that it would close 900 stores over three years, also citing “changes in population, consumer purchasing patterns and future health needs.”
CVS Health bought Target’s pharmacy and clinic businesses in 2015 for about $1.9 billion. The initial deal brought in 1,672 pharmacies
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