Table of Contents
PHILADELPHIA — Rite Aid said it will close 53 more store locations including some in New York City and Long Island, adding to the roughly 200 it has closed since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. The closures also included stores in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan Virginia.
The chain has been reporting annual losses for several years and, like its rivals, faces financial risk from lawsuits over opioid prescriptions. Rite Aid already has reached several settlements, including one announced last year with the state of West Virginia for up to $30 million.
After filing for bankruptcy protection in mid-October, the chain announced the closures of more than 150 stores across 15 states. In late November, Rite Aid announced the closures of another 31 stores. More were closed at the start of this year.
The court filings did not provide a timetable for when these locations could close.
A full list of closures is outlined in court documents released this month.
“Rite Aid regularly assesses its retail footprint to ensure we’re operating efficiently while meeting the needs of our customers, communities, associates and overall business. In connection with the court-supervised process, we notified the Court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance. At this time, we have not made or confirmed any decisions on additional specific store closures as part of our financial restructuring process,” the company said in statement.
The company added:
- The decision to close a store is not one we take lightly. The Company, with the assistance of its advisors, carefully considers various factors in its decision-making, including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance.
- For our customers, we make every effort to ensure they have access to pharmacy-based health services, whether at another Rite Aid or other nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions to ensure there is no disruption of service.
- For our associates, we strive to transfer them to other Rite Aid locations where possible. In fact, approximately 75% of our associates have accepted opportunities to transfer locations if their store has been or is part of the ongoing store closures.
