Walgreens will close 5 San Francisco stores next month because of 'organized retail crime'

Walgreens will shut down five San Francisco locations next month because of problems with "organized retail crime."

The pharmacy chain said that each location will shift prescriptions to another store in the area.

"Due to ongoing organized retail crime, we have made the difficult decision to close five stores across San Francisco," a Walgreens spokesperson informed Fox Business via a statement. "Each store will transfer prescriptions to a nearby Walgreens location within a mile radius and we expect to place the stores' team members in other nearby locations."

"Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that," the spokesperson noted. "Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average. During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment."

According to SFGATE, Walgreens has shut down at least 10 stores in San Francisco since the beginning of 2019.

"@Walgreens will be closing 5 additional stores in San Francisco - including the one located at 4645 Mission St in the Excelsior," tweeted Ahsha Safai, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

"I am completely devastated by this news - this Walgreens is less than a mile from seven schools and has been a staple for seniors, families and children for decades. This closure will significantly impact this community," he tweeted.