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CAMP HILL, Pa. — Introductions of lower-priced generic drugs contributed to a dip in same-store sales at Rite Aid Corp. for September.
The drug chain said Thursday that for the four weeks ended Sept. 29, comparable-store sales decreased 0.7% year over year. That was down from upticks of 0.4% in August and 0.5% in July, which followed a 1% decrease in June — the retailer’s first monthly decline in over a year.
September comp-store sales edged up 2.8% in the front end but fell 2.3% in the pharmacy. Rite Aid noted that comparable pharmacy sales included a negative impact of 911 basis points from new generic drugs. Prescription count at comparable stores rose 4.4%.
Total drug store sales in September were down 1.5% to almost $1.90 billion from nearly $1.93 billion in the prior-year period. Prescription sales accounted for 67.8% of drug store sales.
Rite Aid reported that same-store sales for the 30 weeks ended Sept. 29 grew 0.9%, reflecting gains of 2.1% in the front end and 0.4% in the pharmacy. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores during the period climbed 3.6% year over year.
Overall drug store sales for the 30 weeks were nearly flat, up by 0.2% to nearly $14.55 billion from $14.51 billion a year earlier. Prescription sales represented 67.9% of total dru gstore sales during that time span.
As of Sept. 29, Rite Aid operated 4,639 drug stores, down from 4,694 stores a year ago.
