“To put that in perspective, Ohio alone has more than 250 drugstores (and) Illinois has more than 600,” Walgreens spokesman James Graham said in an email. “We will also be opening new stores during the year, and after including these store closures, Walgreens still expects a net increase in its store count in fiscal 2014 of approximately 55-75 locations.”
The average age of the stores that will be closed will be about 10 years, and company officials will consider factors such as proximity to other Walgreens stores and whether stores are in “non-optimal” locations, according to a presentation made by Walgreens officials as part of their earnings release.
That represents a small slice of its total of 8,210 and a shift from its previous growth strategy, which focused on opening locations to maximize convenience for its customers. A slowdown in generic drug introductions and bad weather contributed to a performance that missed Wall Street’s profit expectations, company officials said.
Overall, the nation’s largest drugstore chain earned $754 million, or 78 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Feb. 28. That’s down from $756 million, or 79 cents per share, a year ago.
Adjusted earnings were 91 cents per share. Analysts expected 93 cents per share, according to FactSet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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