900 CVS Stores Gone by 2026, Will Illinois Survive? Walgreens Does The Reverse

300 CVS locations will shut down per year, through 2026...That's an awful lot. Will Illinois locations survive? The-Sun

With more that 9600 stores nationwide, CVS is planning on downsizing in a big way in the next three years. There are CVS locations in 200 Illinois towns, so how will the Land of Lincoln do with all these stores closing? PATCH

"We remain focused on the competitive advantage provided by our presence in thousands of communities across the country, which complements our rapidly expanding digital presence." -  CVS President and CEO Karen S. Lynch

Say what? So a digital prescription, talk to that digital pharmacist?

The Rhode Island based CVS company hasn't stated which stores in which states will be feeling the pain, but some west coast locations are already closing.

CVS has stated that they are committed to helping those employees find new jobs it their stores closes.

But on the flip side there is Walgreens Pharmacy...They aren't closing stores, they raised their minimum wage. With 9000 stores nationwide they changed its more than 25,000 employees to $15 per hour.

So what does this mean for Illinois CVS locations? No CVS locations in Illinois are on the list of possible closings, but with 300 vanishing per year that doesn't mean Illinois is out of the woods.

This stern warning about CVS locations came back in 2021:

"Too many stores are stuck in the past with bad lighting, depressing interiors, messy merchandising, and a weak assortment of products. They are not destinations or places where people go out of anything other than necessity.” - Retail expert Neil Saunders, of Global Data

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