Brookshire’s sells its pharmacies to Walgreens

Brookshire Grocery Co. is selling its 120 pharmacies in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas to Walgreens. Most of the locations will be converted to Walgreens pharmacies operating inside the Tyler-based grocer’s stores.

The pharmacy business has become “increasingly complex over the past few years,” said Brad Brookshire, chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery.

“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.”

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Staffing shortages and burnout are an issue for pharmacies and some locations are cutting back hours. Pharmacy operations have changed over the years with consumer needs to offer more services such as vaccinations and in-store clinics while coming up against new competition from online pharmacies.

Terms of the sale weren’t disclosed.

CVS paid $1.9 billion for Target’s 1,672 pharmacies in 47 states in 2015. The pharmacies now operate as CVS-branded locations inside Target. More recently, CVS said will close 900 stores through 2024 and several have already closed in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Walgreens promised “a seamless transition,” said Brad Ulrich, Walgreens’ vice president of pharmacy and retail operations. Eligible employees are being offered jobs with Walgreens, he said.

Brookshire’s offers Walgreens access to small towns, rural markets and booming Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs that would be expensive to build out with its own stores. Brookshire’s operates dozens of stores around the D-FW market and is also growing in Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The 95-year-old family and employee-owned and operated company has 206 stores in four states operating as Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods, Fresh by Brookshire’s, Spring Market and Reasor’s.

Customers’ prescriptions will automatically transfer to Walgreens. The 120 pharmacies in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas are in Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods and Fresh by Brookshire’s stores.

Some Brookshire Grocery pharmacies will close as part of the agreement. Customers will be notified of their patient file transfers to another Brookshire’s supermarket or to a nearby Walgreens.

Walgreens operates pharmacies within health systems and hospitals nationwide and inside some Bi-Mart stores in the Pacific Northwest.

Sidley Austin, LLP acted as lead legal advisor for Walgreens, along with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. The Food Partners served as strategic and financial adviser and Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. and Kilpatrick Townsend, and Haynes and Boone served as legal counsel to Brookshire Grocery.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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