Rite Aid customers in the tri-state can expect their local store to close or change ownership in the next few months, as the struggling drugstore chain goes through another bankruptcy filing.
The company plans to sell customer prescription files, inventory and other assets as it closes distribution centers and unloads store locations.
Stores will remain open for now, but the company isn’t buying new inventory so bare shelves are likely become more common.
“I think what we’ll progressively see is the stores will become more and more spartan,” said retail analyst Neil Saunders.
The company runs 1,245 stores in 15 states, according to its website. It has a heavy presence in New York, Pennsylvania and California, which alone has 347 locations.
Here’s what customers can expect next.
How long will Rite Aid stores remain open?
Rite Aid says a few months for most of its stores. All locations will eventually close or be sold to a new owner.
Until then, customers will still be able to fill prescriptions, get immunizations and shop in the stores or online.
Rite Aid has said that it will stop issuing customer rewards points for purchases. It also will no longer honor gift cards or accept returns or exchanges starting next month.
Will my local Rite Aid store close?
Rite Aid has not specified which of its 1,245 stores will close, only saying that all stores will either close or be sold to a new owner. It’s unclear which specific stores will close.
What will happen to my prescription records at Rite Aid?
Rite Aid will try to sell them to another drugstore, grocer or retailer with a pharmacy. The company says it is working to put together a “smooth transfer” of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies.
But there’s no guarantee those files will wind up at a retailer near the location that is closing.
That may be challenging because some Rite Aid stores are in rural areas, miles away from another pharmacy, noted Saunders, managing director of the consulting and data analysis firm GlobalData.
Prescription files can be valuable assets because they can connect the acquiring drugstore with a regular customer if that person sticks with the new store.
“During this process, Rite Aid customers can continue to access pharmacy services and products in stores and online, including prescriptions and immunizations. In connection with the sale process and court-supervised proceedings, the Company is working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies. Rite Aid employees assisting with this process will continue to receive pay and benefits,” Rite Aid said in a news release about the bankruptcy filing in the District of New Jersey.
How did Rite Aid get to this point?
Philadelphia-based Rite Aid had been closing stores and struggling with losses for years before its first bankruptcy filing in 2023. The company says its “only viable path forward” is a return to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
The company said in letter to vendors that it has been hit with several financial challenges that have grown more intense.
“For more than 60 years, Rite Aid has been a proud provider of pharmacy services and products to our loyal customers. While we have continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate, we are encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors,” said Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder in a press release. “As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible.”
Rite Aid and its competitors have been dealing with tighter profits on their prescriptions, increased theft, court settlements over opioid prescriptions and customers who are drifting to online shopping and discount retailers.
Walgreens, which has more than six times as many stores as Rite Aid, agreed in March to be acquired by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
CVS Health also has closed stores.
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