Lazaro Aleman
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
Residents accustomed to getting their prescriptions filled at the local Winn Dixie pharmacy will have to go elsewhere for their medical needs in the future.
Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, announced recently that WD pharmacy customers will have their prescription transferred to CVS and Walgreens in the coming months ahead of the company’s planned merger with the German-based grocer, Aldi.
“Customers will receive 'sufficient advance notice,'” according to Meredith Hurley, senior director of communications for Southern Grocers.
In August, Aldi announced the purchase of some 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarket stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, with sundry of the stores to be converted to Aldi’s, while others continue to operate as Winn-Dixies and Harveys. It has yet to be determined if the local store will change its name. Whatever the name, however, Aldi does not operate pharmacies.
Aldi has plans to open 20 new Aldi-brand stores in the Southeast by the end of the year. The firm currently operates 40 stores in Alabama, according to its website.