CVS stores at Bear Valley and Amethyst to close
The CVS Pharmacy store at Bear Valley and Amethyst roads in Victorville will close on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Customers at the pharmacy location were startled last month to walk in and find a posted notice announcing the closure. Much of the store’s merchandise was marked down to closeout prices of 50 percent off or more. As a result, shelves have been emptying rapidly.
The posted sign directs customers to the chain’s other nearby locations at 14426 Palmdale Road or 12058 Palmdale Road in Victorville.
“All prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 14426 Palmdale Road to ensure patients have uninterrupted access to pharmacy care,” stated an email from Amy Thibault, a lead director of external communications for CVS Pharmacy.
The email continued, “Employees are being offered comparable roles within the company.”
The closure was announced to employees in early January, Thibault said, and “patient notification, in-store signage posting, and other closing activities began after that.”
The emailed statement offered no specific reasons for the decision, stating that “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.”
Recently, CVS announced plans to close 900 locations nationwide in the next three years. However, Thibault said that no other closures in the Victor Valley are currently planned.
The suburban intersection has seen other closures of major chains over the years. Next door to the soon-to-be-shuttered CVS sits a vacant Albertson’s grocery store, which closed back in 2012. A Rite Aid location across Amethyst from CVS, which closed more recently, also remains empty.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: CVS stores at Bear Valley and Amethyst to close
