If Walgreens is your go-to drug store, you may soon need to find a new place to shop and fill your prescriptions.
The pharmacy chain announced Thursday that it is planning to close a significant number of poorly performing stores across the country.
While Walgreens didn't mention exactly how many locations could face the chopping block, reports indicate that 25% of the company's stores are underperforming. Seeing as the chain has more than 8,600 stores in the U.S., 2,150 locations could possibly be in jeopardy of closing.
"We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics, which have eroded pharmacy margins," Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said in the company's third quarter results report. "Our results and outlook reflect these headwinds, despite solid performance in both our International and U.S. Healthcare segments."
In an interview with CNBC, Wentworth said the company expects to see weak consumer spending for the rest of the year.
"The consumer is absolutely stunned by the absolute prices of things, and the fact that some of them may not be inflating doesn't actually change their resistance to the current pricing," he said. "So we've had to get really keen, particularly in discretionary things."
Wentworth said the company is at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable, which requires them to approach the market differently. As part of its strategic review, Walgreens plans to focus on improving its core business: retail pharmacy.
"We are addressing critical issues with urgency and working to unlock opportunities for growth," Wentworth said.
The company is still finalizing its plans to close stores, which would reportedly take place over multiple years.