Rite Aid is in freefall.
After filing for bankruptcy in May – the second time in less than two years – it’s moved quickly to wind up operations and close down as many stores as it can.
Out of its total footprint of nearly 1,300 stores, over 1,000 have been closed, with expectations that many of the remainder will likely go dark soon as well.
And while the damage isn’t limited to Rite Aid – far from it – the fact of the matter is that it’s been the hardest hit of the big three.
(Although Walgreens keeps closing stores, so its closed count keeps creeping up, too.)
It’s a combination of tough circumstances – the rise of online pharmacies, difficulty attracting and retaining staff as wages increase, and of course increasing food prices and pressure from big grocery competitors – that has left pharmacies in a tight spot.
By late August, reporters in the Mid-Atlantic confirmed that Rite Aid pharmacies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey had gone dark, with prescriptions routed to competitors.
Even beloved side businesses haven’t been spared. Thrifty Ice Cream — the nostalgic West Coast brand long tucked inside Rite Aid — was auctioned off and sold for $19.2 million to Hilrod Holdings, a firm tied to Monster Beverage executives. The in-store scoop counters are closing, but the brand itself will live on under new ownership.
Unfortunately, while the timeline for further closures is unclear, Rite Aid has made clear that it plans to close or sell every remaining store.
It’s the end of a beloved brand that’s been around for a long time.
Got any great Rite Aid stories to share? Where are you shopping now, instead? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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