In June, Walgreens announced plans to reduce its stake in primary care clinic chain VillageMD and to shutter underperforming stores in the next few years.
Here are seven things to know:
1. Walgreens will soon no longer be VillageMD's majority owner, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth said in a June 27 earnings call.
2. Mr. Wentworth added in the call that the shift comes amid changing customer demographics and preferences. He also said 75% of the company's roughly 8,600 stores are responsible for nearly all of its retail profits.
3. Walgreens Boots Alliance became the majority owner of VillageMD in 2021 through a $5.2 billion deal.
4. VillageMD has expanded greatly since the deal, including a $8.9 billion acquisition of Summit Health-CityMD in 2023.
5. Also on June 27, the company also announced plans to shutter underperforming stores in the next three years.
6. In 2023, Walgreens said it would close 60 VillageMD sites to cut at least $1 billion in costs. Walgreens had previously announced it would close around 300 stores.
7. "For the remaining 25% of the stores in our network which are not contributing to our long term strategy, changes are imminent," Mr. Wentworth said.