Morrisons is undertaking a review of its pharmacies to explore how it can make them more financially sustainable, C+D can exclusively reveal.
As part of this, it is looking at a range of options that could include selling some of its supermarket pharmacies.
The number of pharmacies being considered for sale and the timeline, however, remain unclear as the process is still ongoing, a Morrisons representative told C+D yesterday (October 14).
Read more: BREAKING: Morrisons to close four pharmacies
They explained that there is a spread of performance across the 120 Morrisons pharmacies and that the supermarket is reviewing how it can make some of these more financially sustainable.
No decision has yet been made to sell any pharmacies as the review is still being worked through, the representative told C+D.
They noted, however, that it is more likely that the selected pharmacies will be sold rather than closed.
Supermarket pharmacy closures
It comes after Morrisons revealed plans in March to close four of its pharmacies following a “wide-ranging review”.
The review “identified a number of areas where the costs of operations are significantly out of line with usage, volumes or the value that customers place on them”, the supermarket giant said at the time.
And chief executive Rami Baitiéh said that the changes were “a necessary part of [its] plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons”.
Read more: Revealed: Which Morrisons pharmacy locations are closing?
Meanwhile, Tesco confirmed to C+D in February that it was closing 10 of its in-store pharmacies this year.
“Following a comprehensive review, last month we took the difficult decision to close a small number of our pharmacies later this year, in line with customer demand,” a Tesco representative said at the time.
