Streetsboro Walgreens Among Those Closing at Month’s End

The Walgreens at 9166 State Route 43 in Streetsboro is set to close at the end of April as part of the company’s nationwide plan to shutter 1,200 locations over the next three years.

Business

Walgreens announced last year that it would be closing approximately 1,200 stores over a three-year period, with 500 of those closures scheduled for fiscal year 2025. While the company has not released a comprehensive list of all affected locations, the Streetsboro store appears to be among those marked for closure.

The pharmacy chain has indicated it will prioritize closing underperforming stores that are either owned by the company or have expiring leases. The closures will affect about 13 percent of Walgreens’ roughly 8,700 U.S. locations.

According to Brigid Sweeney, Walgreens’ senior manager of media relations, “Our retail pharmacy business is central to our go-forward business strategy. However, increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs. It is never an easy decision to close a store.”

Impact on Customers

Customers who currently get their prescriptions filled at the Streetsboro location will not need to take any action. They will be notified by mail, and their prescriptions will be automatically transferred to a nearby Walgreens location.

The Streetsboro Walgreens currently serves the community with both pharmacy and retail services. The next closest Walgreens locations are in Aurora at 95 W Garfield Road (5.4 miles away), in Kent at 320 S Water Street (6.2 miles away), and in Stow at 2086 Graham Road (7 miles away).

Industry Trends

The nation’s three largest pharmacy chains are rapidly shrinking their footprints after a period of expansion in previous decades. CVS has announced a three-year plan to close 900 locations, while Rite Aid has shed more than 800 locations as it emerges from bankruptcy.

Competition from online providers and reduced reimbursement rates from pharmacy benefit managers have made it increasingly difficult for drugstore chains to maintain profitability. Walgreens, like other drugstores, is facing challenges due to competition from Amazon and declining drug reimbursement rates.