Longs to close 31 stores in West

Longs to close 31 stores in West Pharmacy chain Longs Drug Stores Corp. will close 31 stores in four western states this year, eliminating their footprint from Colorado, Washington, and Oregon.
   The company will also close eight stores in California, open 30 other outlets and remodel 40 more in an effort to move ahead with a company turnaround.
   The Walnut Creek-based company made the announcement Wednesday when it also reported that profits for the fourth quarter slid to $26.9 million from $35.42 million during the same period last year.
   The Associated Press reported that an analyst said most of the company’s one-time expenses associated with the store closures and the building of a new distribution center have left Longs’ poised for a financial rebound in 2007.
   “They are in the midst of very powerful turnaround,” BB&T analyst Andrew P. Wolf told the Associated Press. “Basically we have a company that is going to do much better than the consensus.”