CNN Business, October 17, 2023, By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN
CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid are closing thousands of stores. Here’s why
Drugstore chains for decades saturated US cities, suburbs and small towns with new stores. Now, they are closing thousands of stores, leaving gaps in communities for medicines and essentials. (…) Retail pharmacy chains over expanded in the past, often pushing out local pharmacies in the process. The number of independent pharmacies decreased by nearly 50% from 1980 to 2022, according to McKinsey. Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens have also been shuttering stores for years. Roughly one out of every eight pharmacies closed between 2009 and 2015, which disproportionately affected independent pharmacies and low-income neighborhoods, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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