CVS is closing five stores in New York State this year as part of a sweeping plan to shut down 271 locations nationwide in 2025, marking the latest round of cuts in a years-long downsizing effort by the pharmacy giant.
The affected New York stores include locations in North Tonawanda, Staten Island, Manhattan and two in Albany, according to a list compiled by Newsweek and coupon site Krazy Coupon Lady.
The closures are part of a broader corporate strategy to streamline operations following the shutdown of approximately 900 CVS stores between 2022 and 2024.
The five New York locations slated for closure include two stores in Albany, at 153 Central Avenue and 1026 Madison Avenue; a Manhattan location at 1241 Lexington Avenue; a store in North Tonawanda at 955 Payne Avenue; and a Staten Island location at 1654 Richmond Avenue.
In the last 10 years, New York City has lost nearly half of its drugstores amid a sharp increase in incidences of shoplifting and an overall decline in quality of life.
While CVS has not publicly disclosed a full list of locations or exact closure dates, a company spokesperson said the decisions were driven by multiple factors, including “population shifts, consumer buying patterns, store and pharmacy density, pharmacy care access, and community health needs.”
The spokesperson added that the closures are part of a larger “enterprise-wide restructuring plan” designed to simplify CVS’s business model and generate more than $500 million in annual savings.
The company is also aiming to consolidate its retail footprint while investing in new models of care, such as in-store clinics and digital services.
Despite the store closures, CVS said it plans to open 30 new pharmacy locations this year, many of them inside Target stores. As of the end of 2024, the company operated around 9,000 locations nationwide.
CVS’s downsizing mirrors similar moves by other major pharmacy chains grappling with inflation, shrinking margins, and shifts in how Americans fill prescriptions.
Walgreens announced last fall it would close more than 1,200 stores, including locations in New York. Rite Aid, once the third-largest pharmacy chain in the US, is now in the process of shuttering all of its remaining stores.
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 and again this spring, weighed down by nearly $4 billion in debt and multiple lawsuits related to its role in the opioid crisis.
In the months since, the Pennsylvania-based company has announced plans to sell off assets and eliminate jobs after failing to secure new financing.
Rite Aid has already sold the pharmacy operations of more than 1,000 stores to rivals including CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger and Giant Eagle.
CVS is set to acquire 625 Rite Aid pharmacies across 15 states, as well as 64 full stores in the Pacific Northwest. Those transactions still require approval from a federal bankruptcy court in New Jersey.
“These agreements ensure our pharmacy customers will experience a smooth transition while preserving jobs for some of our valued team members,” Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said in a statement.
For now, Rite Aid says its stores will remain open during the bankruptcy process, with customers able to pick up prescriptions and schedule vaccines as usual.
But with only 1,240 stores left — down from more than 2,400 just two years ago — the company is expected to close about 10% of its remaining footprint in the coming months.
As CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid all scale back, analysts say the retail pharmacy sector is undergoing a dramatic transformation, shaped by online competitors, changing consumer behavior and persistent financial pressures.
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