As part of a worldwide cost management program, Walgreens Boots Alliance is closing 200 drugstores in the U.K. and plans to close 750 of the Rite Aid stores the company acquired in 2018, according to Forbes.
Four things to know:
1. The plan to close 200 U.K. drugstores was confirmed last week by Walgreens.
2. The decision comes after the drugstore giant announced plans earlier this year to shutter more Rite Aid drugstores in the U.S. than originally anticipated.
3. Walgreens purchased 1,932 Rite Aid stores and planned to close 600. However, in April, Walgreens announced the number of store closures would grow to 750, according to the report.
4. Walgreens said the cost management program and store closures are key to the company's future.
"Most importantly, this program will help drive a structural change in the company, making us a more efficient, more agile and more responsive organization," Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina told analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call. "It is expected to provide a significant portion of the funding required for our major technology upgrade and development investments."