
Walgreens Closing 600 Stores Following Rite Aid Deal
Deerfield, IL-based Walgreens plans to close roughly 600 stores starting next spring, as it integrates its acquisition of Rite Aid stores. The affected locations are mainly Rite Aid’s and are slated to be closed over an 18-month span.
The move is expected to cost the retailer $450 million, but the annual cost savings going forward is estimated to be in the $300 million range by 2020. The stores closing generally fall within a mile of another Walgreens or Rite Aid site.
Walgreens Boots won regulatory approval last month to buy 1,932 Rite Aid stores and other assets for $4.375 billion in a phased acquisition. Initial sales transpired in the past week, with the remaining purchases occurring by spring of 2018.
Rite Aid stores being integrated into Walgreens will be rebranded. Walgreens has roughly 8,100 locations, and eventually through the integration and closing process will have about 9,400 U.S. locations.
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