Walgreens To Close 27 USA Drug Stores In Arkansas As Merger Nears

Earlier this year, national retail chain Walgreens acquired Pine Bluff-based USA Drug Stores, the 144-store pharmacy group started by Arkansas entrepreneur Stephen LaFrance.

Now, nearly half of those stores will close, including 27 in Arkansas. Fourteen of the 27 Arkansas stores will be shuttered in central Arkansas.

“After careful planning and market analysis, on Monday we began to notify employees of our intent to close 14 stores in the Little Rock region, in addition to some stores in other states,” a Walgreens company statement said. “Our decisions about stores closures are based on a number of considerations, including size of the market and proximity to other Walgreens and USA Drug stores and affiliates.”

Walgreens agreed in July 2012 to acquire USA Drug and other stores owned by LaFrance in a $438 million deal. The deal is expected to close this month.

You can read more on the closings in this article from Talk Business content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau.

David Goins with our content partner, Fox 16 News, files this report, which includes all of the Arkansas location closings.