Rite-Aid Closing 145 Stores This Year

According to an official statement by Rite-Aid Corp, 145 stores are closing this year to drive maximum efficiencies, business strategy, lease, and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance.

According to a Fintel earnings report, the chain of pharmacies brought in $21,928,390 of revenue in 2020. While Rite-Aid closes 145 of its stores. Rite-Aid will not be leaving any of its customers without a nearby pharmacy to receive the health care treatment or prescriptions they need, whether it be a competitor or their own. The customers’ health and wellness are first in mind. Rite-Aid would not be closing these stores if it meant leaving those affected without a way to get their medicines and other needs.

According to Rite-Aid’s website, the pharmacy has been serving the communities of America since September 12, 1962.  The origin story of the company begins with Alex Grass an American businessman, and lawyer who came to Pennsylvania to pursue a legal career in tax law with the Internal Revenue Service as well as government agencies. After marrying into the Lehman family in the 1950s, he ended up working in the retail business through the works of manifest destiny. Grass was perceptive, as he noted a void of stores that sold products for people looking to improve their health or beauty but at a reasonable price. It was then he created the foundation of which future Rite-Aids would build in his native town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Grass called it Thrift D Discount Center.

When asked to confirm if the 128 N Courtland location of Rite-Aid is closing Alicja Wojczyk Head of Rite-Aid Public Relations said:

“I can confirm that the East Stroudsburg store location is closing on Monday 5/16. I would like to provide some context around this. On our December Q3 earnings call, we shared that we were closing more than 60 stores across our footprint. On our most recent earnings call several weeks ago (4th quarter and full year results) we provided an update that we anticipated a total of 145 store closures between last fall and June of this year. These store closings are part of our business plan to drive maximum efficiencies, and a number of factors are considered before determining a store closure. I hope that helps clarify – our full statement is below.”

“Since last year we have identified 145 stores for closure between fall of 2021 and June of this year. A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance. We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services. We also strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible. As a full-service pharmacy company, we look forward to expanding in new ways to new markets to serve the needs of our customers.”- Official Rite Aid Statement