CLOSED CALL
CVS manager confirms longtime location closing thanks to rent woes and rampant theft as company shutters 900 stores
The company's CEO revealed what the biggest problem facing his stores is.
CVS has announced another closure, as brick-and-mortar pharmacies around the country continue to shutter due to theft and violent crime.
The nation's largest retail pharmacy chain closed several hundred stores across the U.S. in 2022 and 2023 and is expected to shut down another 300 locations 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 in business will be on or before Thursday, June 13.
The location's manager told Northeast News "theft and rent" were the main reasons the company decided to close the store.
In March, the company's CEO, Karen Lynch, told CBS News some locations had to move products behind locked cages to prevent thieves from ransacking stores, although she hated doing it.
Read more on store closures
'RETAIL THEFT IS A BIG PROBLEM'
"Organized retail theft is a big problem for us," Lynch said at the time.
"They're coming in and they're clearing shelves off and then reselling them, she said.
Customers have already started receiving calls from the pharmacy to transfer prescriptions.
And employees have been offered comparable roles within the company, the company's spokesperson, Amy Thibault, told The U.S. Sun on Friday.
Most read in The US Sun
"We’ll continue to provide the community with outstanding service at our nearly 100 locations across the Kansas City metro, including 20 in Kansas City," said Thibault.
"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 realigning its national retail footprint and reduce store density by roughly 900 stores.
"The realignment is based on our evaluation of changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs to ensure we have the right kinds 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.
Major retailer with 10,000 stores is forced to close down crime-ridden location after disturbing pics show empty shelves
There are currently more than 100 CVS stores in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
CVS has closed six Kansas City locations in the last two years.
Anthony Spalitto, whose family has operated a nearby independent pharmacy, Spalitto's Pharmacy, since 1929, told local Fox News affiliate WDAF-TV that about 30,000 customers will now have few options for filling their prescriptions.
“There’s a lot of people here. Not very many pharmacies," said Spalitto.
US stores that lock shelves to combat theft
Retailers have started to lock shelves to combat rising theft.
- Walmart
- Target
- Walgreens
- CVS
- Duane Reade
- Rite Aid
- Dollar Tree
- The Home Depot
- Sephora
He said, "People will now have to drive farther.
“Transportation is going to be tough, especially if you live here. It’s about a 10-minute drive, roughly, traffic depending.
"I guess that’s what they’re going to have to do. Unless they transfer before they close, their scripts are automatically going to be sent there."
Despite the large volume of planned closures, CVS reported strong earnings in the first quarter of 2024.
The company says it's total revenues increased to $88.4 billion, which is up 3.7% compared to the prior year.
PHARMACY DOOMSDAY
Earlier this year, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens announced they would be closing 1,800 stores.
Several reasons are to blame including violent crime and theft.
Read More on The US Sun
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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