Retailers Closed Down over 4,600 Stores in 2023, with More to Come in 2024

Major retailers have experienced a wave of store closures in 2023, an 80% surge from the year prior, Coresight Research reports.

The top reasons include bankruptcy of one major chain and some stores just not performing well in certain areas. The continued growth of online shopping is another factor, and other retailers said that theft is a major reason for their decision to close some stores, according to CBS News. 

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Arizona Localities Receive Portion of National Opioid Settlement

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the finalization of a $50 billion national opioid settlement against drug companies Teva and Allergan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens.

Arizona will receive $380 million in compensation over 15 years. Approximately $213 million will go toward local governments, and the remaining $167 million will be allocated to state-level efforts.

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Walgreens Won’t Dispense Abortion Pills in Many States—Including Some Where They Are Legal

Walgreens decided on Thursday not to distribute abortion-inducing drugs in some states where they are legal following pushback on multiple fronts, according to Politico.

With continuously changing policies, warnings from state attorneys general and pressure from anti-abortion activists, this decision reflects an abundance of caution, according to Politico. Nearly two dozen state attorneys general signed onto a letter threatening legal action against Walgreens if they go forward with dispensing the drugs, which are now America’s most popular method to terminate pregnancies.

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Walgreens Closing Five Bay Area Locations Due to Spike in Shoplifting

People looting a Walgreens

The pharmaceutical chain Walgreens will be closing five stores in San Francisco, California due to a spike in “organized” shoplifting impacting its locations, according to MarketWatch via MSN.

The decision was made by Walgreens’ parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., which will relocate all employees to new locations and ship all outstanding prescriptions to other stores within one mile of the original stores. The stores will be shut down sometime between November 8th and November 17th.

“Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average,” the company revealed in the statement announcing the decision. “To help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average, in an effort to provide a safe environment.”

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