Walgreens Shuttering King Drive Store
Closure is second currently underway and the sixth in two years.
2826 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Pharmacy giant Walgreens is in the process of closing not one, but two Milwaukee stores.
The closures come after the company revealed in October that 25% of its 8,500 stores are losing money and it plans to close 1,200 stores by 2027.
The latest closure to be revealed is the store and pharmacy at 2826 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
It joins a closure confirmed Monday for 5201 N. 91st St. near Timmerman Airport.
“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,” said a company spokesperson. “It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance. When closures are necessary, like these two in Milwaukee, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members from those stores that we close.”
The King Drive store, located just south of the newly-reconstructed W. Locust Street, will be the sixth Milwaukee store to close in the past two years.
Last month, the store at 2625 W. National Ave. closed. It joined other recent closures that already occurred at 2222 W. Capitol Dr., 6707 W. Hampton Ave. and 2410 W. Forest Home Ave.
According to city license records, Walgreens will still operate 22 Milwaukee stores after the latest two closures. The Illinois-based chain also has numerous stores in Milwaukee’s suburbs.
According to city assessment records, the King Drive store was constructed in 2008. The 15,551-square-foot building sits on a 1.15-acre lot.
The property is owned by a Beverly Hills, California-based investment group affiliated with Madison Partners. It is assessed for $2.79 million.
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I am surprised that Walgreens has not started to make drive through only pharmacies. Less manpower to stock things like milk, candy, gift cards, and health and beauty aids. I always wonder how much of a profit selling milk makes for them. And, when I used to live downtown…. I did shop at a full store Walgreens on occasion for that convenience factor. But most items are so overpriced that it deterred me from making most purchases from them. I acknowledge that a lot of people do not own cars, but wonder if it could be a possibility. Or if they have them in other areas.
@DAGDAG you could also have a walk-up window for people who don’t have cars.