After CVS Healthcare recently closed its Belfast stores and cut 70 jobs, Walgreens Boots Alliance is gaining ground. The conglomerate, which bought out Duane Reade, is moving to buy out Rite Aid as well.
CVS Healthcare Closes Store After £735,000 Investment
The move to Belfast had been inspired by an investment of £735,000 from Invest Northern Ireland to write software for CVS Healthcare’s mobile apps for prescription orders among other tasks, but the IT development office is effectively closing.
CVS Healthcare, which is currently headquartered in Rhode Island, is number 12 on the Fortune 500 list of companies, and it is currently the largest pharmacy healthcare provider in the US, which more than 200,000 employed staff. This move cuts 70 jobs out of Belfast and re-centralizes operations to the United States.
Meanwhile, Walgreens Grows to be Second Largest
While CVS Healthcare sits on the #1 spot, Walgreens is gaining ground in New York. Citizens of the five boroughs will not only have to choose between these two when it comes to their medication and basic groceries. In order to make things really even with CVS Healthcare, Walgreens Boot Alliance is moving to buy out Rite Aid.
According to analysts, if the buy is successful, the market will go in a true head-to-head for the best profit. CVS Healthcare will surely measure up to the challenge, and the battle to ensue between these two companies is sure to shake up the pharmaceutical industry.
Customers will look to to the best service out of both. CVS Healthcare and Duane Reade pharmacies are perhaps the most present in New York, so it’s no longer a matter of convenience. There’s no telling how CVS Healthcare will be affected by the loss of Belfast as of yet, but it’s possible operations will be affected.
