Minnetonka-based Snyders Drug Stores is closing 19 of 47 company-owned stores in Minnesota amid the challenging economic environment for retailers.
Another 30 independent stores that bear the Snyders name won't be affected.
"Hundreds" of job cuts are in order, a spokeswoman said, but would not be more specific. Some store employees are unionized and may bump others, the spokeswoman said. For customers of each store to be closed, pharmacy care will be provided at a nearby location, the company said.
The chain will be smaller but stronger going forward, Snyders President Dave Schwartz said in a statement.
Drugstore competition has been heating up in recent years. Walgreens has multiple Twin Cities locations, and the CVS chain has been expanding since it entered the Twin Cities market in 2004. Some independent drug stores have closed, including Bober Pharmacy & Gift on trendy Grand Avenue in St. Paul, which sold out to CVS in 2006 after more than 40 years.
Founded in Minneapolis in 1928, the Snyders chain was acquired by the Katz Group of Canada a decade ago in Katz's first foray into the United States.
In 2003, Snyders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, saying it needed to sell or close the Drug Emporium subsidiary it had bought in 2001 in a bankruptcy sale.
Here is the list from Minnetonka-based Snyders Drug Stores of company-owned stores to remain open and the 19 that will close.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11628347?s ... ost_viewed
