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CAMP HILL, Pa. — Sluggish pharmacy and front-end business fueled a decline in same-stores sales and total revenue in May at Rite Aid Corp.
The drug store chain said Thursday that same-store sales for the five weeks ended May 29 fell 1.7% compared with the prior-year period. That was down from a 1% drop-off in April and flat results in March.
In May, same-store sales decreased 3.6% in the front end and 0.8% in the pharmacy. Rite Aid noted that pharmacy same-store results in the month reflect a 124-basis-point negative impact from new generic introductions. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores fell 2% versus a year ago.
Overall drug store revenue for the five-week period was down 2.7% to nearly $2.44 billion from $2.51 billion a year earlier, according to Rite Aid.
For the 13-week first quarter ended May 29, same-store sales decreased 1%, reflecting a 1.3% decline in the front end and a 0.9% dip in the pharmacy, the retailer reported. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores fell 1.7% in the quarter versus the year-ago period.
Total drug store sales for the first quarter, meanwhile, slipped 2.1% to about $6.37 billion from $6.51 billion a year earlier.
As of May 29, Rite Aid operated 4,767 stores, down from 4,825 units a year earlier.
