PayLess Drug Stores, based in Wilsonville, Ore., which operates 29 drug stores in Utah, will close two of them on April 2 as part of a plan to close 40 stores in nine states.
According to Kimberly McAlear, director of corporate relations, the company will close the stores at 2236 E. 3300 South in Salt Lake City and 720 E. Main. in Price. She said the employees were told of the action Tuesday and will be given a chance to transfer to other stores. About 50 employees are affected.McAlear said the store closings have nothing to do with the pending sale of PayLess by Kmart to the owners of Thrifty Drug Stores, but analysts said the consolidation will make the chain seem more financially attractive to the buyers.
She said the stores scheduled for closure have been evaluated and determined not to be making money or showing signs of improvement.
In early December, TCH Corp., a Los Angeles-based investment partnership managed by Leonard Green & Partners that acquired Thrifty in September 1992, agreed to buy PayLess' 575 stores in Utah, California, Oregon, Washington and several other Western states.
The deal will give PayLess and Thrifty more than 1,000 stores and $4.7 billion in sales, making it the secondlargest group of drug stores under single ownership, behind Walgreen.