CVS Corporate: Latest Binghamton Closing Not Due to Shoplifting

UPDATE:

A spokeswoman at CVS Pharmacy corporate headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island emailed a statement to WNBF News after this story was published.

According to the statement from Amy Thibault, "shoplifting was not a factor in our decision" to close the CVS store on West State Street in Binghamton.

Thibault would not comment on what other CVS Pharmacy stores in the region will be closed this year.

This is the statement provided by Thibault:

"We’ve made the difficult decision to close our pharmacy at 34 West State Street in Binghamton on March 1^st. All prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 163 Robinson Street, which is about a mile away, to ensure that patients continue to have uninterrupted access to service. All employees are being offered comparable roles at other CVS locations nearby. 

Maintaining access to pharmacy services in underserved communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions. 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, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Shoplifting was not a factor in our decision.

We’ll continue to provide the community with outstanding service at our four remaining locations in the city of Binghamton. We also offer prescription home delivery service to eligible patients through CVS.com and the CVS Pharmacy app to provide additional convenient access to medications.   

While we can’t comment at this time on other specific store closures that may occur this year, we’re confident that our open stores will continue to provide outstanding service to all of our customers and patients in the community."

ORIGINAL STORY:

Past and current employees at CVS Pharmacy stores in Binghamton are blaming shoplifting for the closing of three locations in the city.

Rhode Island-based CVS is planning to close its West State Street store on the city's North Side next month.

The CVS Pharmacy on Court Street downtown closed in November. The company shut down its store at 68 Main Street on the West Side in January 2019.

People working at the West State Street CVS Pharmacy are telling customers who ask why the store is going out of business that it's due to the growing shoplifting problem.

Employees at the Court Street store last fall also said the theft of merchandise was a primary reason the location was being closed.

The manager of the CVS Pharmacy on the North Side Tuesday afternoon said he could not comment on the matter. Signs at the store say it will be closing on March 1.

CVS corporate representatives have not returned calls seeking an explanation for the closing of three Binghamton stores or whether the company intends to shut down other locations in Broome County.

More CVS stores will be closing in the coming months. According to CNBC, the company last November announced it planned to pull the plug on about 900 locations over the next three years. The report indicated those closings would start this spring.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.