Walgreens to acquire 120 Brookshire Grocery pharmacies

Less than two weeks after announcing plans to shut down 150 of its U.S. locations, Walgreens has reached an agreement with Brookshire Grocery Co. to purchase 120 of the grocer’s pharmacies in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. 

Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery said the “vast majority” of its in-store pharmacies will be converted into Walgreens pharmacies—customer prescription files and pharmacy inventory will also transfer to Walgreens as part of the deal. 

Brookshire, which operates more than 205 stores in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, said it plans to close a few of its pharmacies as part of the deal but did not specify how many or the locations. The company added that pharmacies in its Reasor’s banner stores in Oklahoma will remain under Brookshire ownership.  

“We are excited to take this next step with Walgreens to strengthen our pharmacies and further our commitment to our employee-partners and customers that make up our BGC family,” said Brad Brookshire, chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery Co., in a statement. “The pharmacy industry has become increasingly complex over the past few years, and it was important to us to find a business leader that has the capabilities to focus on providing exceptional pharmacy services and value to our customers.” 

Brookshire said in the announcement that pharmacy employees at the locations are “being offered opportunities with Walgreens.” 

“Walgreens has a long history of serving communities throughout the U.S., and we look forward to providing BGC’s customers with greater access to a wide range of trusted pharmacy and healthcare services,” said Brad Ulrich, vice president of Pharmacy and Retail Operations for Walgreens, in a statement. “Our pharmacists are playing a critical role in healthcare today, and we truly value the importance of the pharmacist-patient relationship. As part of our commitment to ensuring a seamless transition, we’re excited to also be providing employment opportunities for BGC’s existing pharmacy staff.” 

The announcement follows a recent Q3 earnings report disclosure in late June by Walgreens Boots Alliance, the international holding company in Deerfield, Illinois, that owns Walgreens in the U.S. and Boots in the U.K., that the company plans to close the Walgreens locations as well as some 300 Boots locations.  

The company reported earnings of $118 million for the quarter ended May 31, a decline of about 59% from the same quarter last year.  

“Our performance in the third quarter did not meet our overall expectations, and we are disappointed to have to change our fiscal 2023 guidance. While we achieved good sales growth and returned to adjusted earnings growth in the quarter, several dynamics created margin pressures that we are factoring into our full-year outlook,” WBA CEO Rosalind Brewer said in the earnings call, according to a transcript from financial services site Sentieo. “We have seen changing market trends that have consumers prioritizing value in response to a more uncertain and challenging economic environment. There has been a steeper drop-off in COVID vaccines and testing with the end of the public health emergency. We are also experiencing a slower profit ramp for US Healthcare.”