CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. posted its sixth consecutive month of same-store sales declines in November.
The drug store chain said Thursday that for the five weeks ended November 28, same-store sales fell 0.8% from the prior-year period. That followed decreases of 0.5% in October and 0.3% in September.
Rite Aid’s last increase in same-store sales came in May, when the company reported a 0.6% gain.
During November, same-store sales in the front end dropped 2.4%, a bit less than the 2.7% decline in the previous month.
Pharmacy same-store sales were flat in November after a 0.5% uptick in October. Rite Aid noted that pharmacy same-store results reflect an approximate 190-basis-point negative impact from new generic drug introductions. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores gained 1% versus the year-ago period.
For the 13-week quarter ended November 28, same-store sales were down 0.5%, including a 2.5% decline in the front end and a 0.4% increase in the pharmacy. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores climbed 1.5% during the quarter.
And for the 39-week year-to-date period ended November 28, same-store sales fell 0.3%, reflecting a 3% front-end decrease and a 0.9% gain in the pharmacy.
Total drug store sales for the five-week November period, meanwhile, decreased 2.1% to nearly $2.43 billion from $2.48 billion a year earlier. And for the quarterly period, total drug store sales tailed off 1.8% to $6.33 billion from $6.44 billion a year ago.
Overall drug store sales for the year-to-date period were down 1.9% to $19.13 billion from $19.50 billion a year earlier.
As of November 28, Rite Aid operated 4,801 drug stores, down from 4,914 stores in the prior-year period.
