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CAMP HILL, Pa. — Citing the shaky economy, among other factors, Rite Aid Corp. in August turned in its third straight month of declined same-store sales.
The drug store chain said Thursday that overall same-store sales decreased 1.9% year over year for the five weeks ended August 29. Same-store results had dipped 0.6% in June and July but were up by that percentage in May.
For August, front-end same-store sales sank 5.3%. On the pharmacy side, same-store revenue tailed off 0.2%, impacted by 264 basis points from generic drug introductions, according to Rite Aid. The company also said the weak economy and high employment continue to weigh down sales.
Excluding the acquired Brooks Eckerd stores, August same-store sales were down 1.5% versus the year-ago period, with front-end results declining 5.6% and pharmacy results seeing a 0.9% gain, the retailer said.
Total drug store sales during the five-week period decreased 3.2% to about $2.40 billion from $2.47 billion a year earlier.
For the 13-week quarter ended August 29, same-store sales fell 1.1%, reflecting a 4.9% drop on the front end and a 0.8% gain in the pharmacy. Total drug store sales in the quarter were down 2.7% to nearly $6.30 billion from $6.47 billion a year earlier.
And for the year to date, same-store sales decreased 0.3%, including a 3.2% falloff on the front end and a 1.2% increase in the pharmacy, Rite Aid reported. Overall drug store sales for the 26 weeks ended August 29 slipped 2% to $12.80 billion from $13.06 billion in the prior-year period.
Rite Aid said it operated a total of 4,812 stores as of August 29, compared with 4,930 stores a year ago.
