Pharmacy In Belmar To Change

NEW JERSEY – Ninety pharmacies in New Jersey are undergoing major changes. And it's not completely clear if closing is one of them. And one of them is in Belmar.

Ninety Rite Aid stores will change to Walgreens soon – just as Walgreens announced that it will be closing 200 stores in 2019, the company said in an August U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Read more: The Chain Stores Leaving New Jersey By 2019

A list of Walgreens locations to close was not released by the company. But Rite Aid did provide a list of stores that are changing to Walgreens and their locations (see below).

Walgreens' parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., has purchased a total of 1,932 Rite Aid stores across the country. Fortune magazine reported that the company subsequently closed "hundreds" of them following the transaction. The purchase price was $4.375 billion.

Fortune reported that Walgreens initially planned to close up to 600 Rite Aids but that number soon grew to 750, executives said earlier this year.

“This is a significant moment for our company, and we are excited about the opportunities this agreement will deliver for our customers and patients, employees and investors,” said Walgreens Boots Alliance Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Stefano Pessina. “Combining Walgreens retail pharmacy network with a strong portfolio of Rite Aid locations is expected to help us achieve enhanced, sustainable growth while enabling us to broaden our reach and provide greater access to convenient, affordable care in more local neighborhoods across the United States.

"We are confident in the path ahead and look forward to working together to shape the future of health care and deliver on the full potential these stores bring to our network.”

The complete transition of these stores to Walgreens is expected to take up to three years, according to Rite Aid.

Rite Aid said that any prescriptions or health care accounts will not change as a result of the conversion.

Here is the list of towns and stores in the area that will change:

• Asbury Park: 901 Main Street
• Belmar: 810 Main Street