CVS to shut six San Francisco areas in Jan. 2022
The San Francisco Business Times first reported that at least three stores in downtown San Francisco will be closed for good by mid-January — the CVS locations at 731 Market St. by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 351 California St. by the Embarcadero Center mall and 581 Market St. by the Montgomery BART station. The latter branch will be closed by Jan 7, the Business Times reports, while the other two will be shut down Jan 15.
A CVS spokesperson confirmed to SFGATE that another three will be shuttered in January, as well — the locations on 2025 Van Ness Ave. by House of Prime Rib, 500 Pine St. near St. Mary’s Square, and 400 Sutter St. by Union Square. The latter two locations are set to close by Jan 22, while the Van Ness location will shut down on Jan 8.
“Maintaining access to pharmacy services in underserved communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions,” CVS spokesperson Monica Prinzing told SFGATE in a statement. “Other factors include local market dynamics, population shifts, a community’s store density, and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community.”
These closures were expected: CVS announced in November it was planning on shuttering 900 stores nationwide as part of a move to refocus its in-person retail experience and consolidate existing stores.
CNN reported in November that the closures were due to “too many overlapping locations” and a subpar in-person shopping experience. There may be more closing down throughout the year; Currently, San Francisco has 17 standalone CVS branches.
While the concerns over retail theft loom large, it does not appear as if an upswing in viral thefts has much to do with these closures, despite competitor Walgreens attributing its closing of San Francisco shops to retail theft.
A CVS spokesperson declined to comment to SFGATE in November about retail theft in San Francisco specifically, instead commenting about the phenomenon writ large.
“Organized Retail Crime has been a challenge to the retail industry for many years, and it has been exacerbated during the pandemic and through the growth of online commerce,” said CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis in a statement to SFGATE.
Prescriptions filled at the 581 Market St., 351 California St. and 500 Pine St. locations will be transferred to the 601 Mission St. location, 731 Market St. prescriptions will move to the 789 Mission St. location, 2025 Van Ness Ave. Prescriptions will move to the 2675 Geary Blvd. location and 400 Sutter St. prescriptions will move to the 1059 Hyde St. location.
All employees, Prinzing said, will be offered “comparable roles” at these new locations.
