Unlike the grocery stores or bank branches we tend to choose based on their product selections and services, your go-to drugstore is likely whichever is closest to you. They're often the one place to get a prescription filled in a pinch, stock up on toiletries or cosmetics, and pick up over-the-counter medicines when you're feeling under the weather. But even though it might seem like they provide an irreplaceable service, some chains are still suffering from economic woes. That includes Rite Aid, which just announced that it's closing 34 more locations months after filing for bankruptcy. Read on to see which stores will be shutting down and if you'll be affected.
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Rite Aid has been going through some financial difficulties lately.
iStockWhile many brick-and-mortar retailers have struggled in recent years, the past few months have been particularly difficult for Rite Aid. On Oct. 15, the well-known drugstore chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey amid ongoing struggles with declining sales and $3.3 billion in debt, CNN reported.
The company is also facing added pressure after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit in March alleging the company had "filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions that did not meet legal requirements" for highly addictive painkillers, according to a press release from the agency. The DOJ also claims Rite Aid ignored evidence it was dispensing illegal prescriptions and ignored "red flags" that they were unlawful.
Even preceding the lawsuit, the company faced economic headwinds. Financial reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show the company lost roughly $3 billion since 2020, CNN reports.
"It was always a matter of when, not if, Rite Aid would file for bankruptcy," Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting company GlobalData, said in a note to investors, per CNN. "The company has been deep in the red for the past six years."
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A newly announced list of store closures will see more than a dozen Rite Aids shuttered in eastern states.
ShutterstockWhile the company's leadership says it plans to stay in business, part of its restructuring plan has involved shutting down some of its locations. The latest set of stores comes from a court document filed by Rite Aid on Nov. 28, which shows that more than a dozen stores will close east of the Mississippi River.
In the Northeast, Connecticut will lose a location at 66 Church Street in New Haven. Meanwhile, New York will lose one location each in Miller Place and the Bronx. And New Jersey will be down two locations after stores close in Beachwood and Moorestown.
Pennsylvania is slated to lose four stores across West Chester, Bellefonte, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. Three Rite Aid locations will also close in Ohio in Toledo, Chardon, and Canton.
Shoppers in Maryland will lose one store when the Delmar location closes. And Virginia will lose three Rite Aids, as one location in Williamsburg and two in Norfolk shutter.
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More locations are also closing along the West Coast.
iStockThe company's planned changes will also affect locations closer to the Pacific. Nevada is losing one location in Gardnerville, and Oregon will lose stores in Salem and St. Helens.
A trio of closures is planned for Washington as the drugstore chain says goodbye to locations in Tacoma, Lacey, and Seattle. But it's California that will see the most Rite Aid stores close: The state will lose seven locations across Lake Tahoe, Livermore, Sacramento, Capitola, Oakhurst, Agoura, and Truckee, according to the court document.
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Another recent announcement added three more locations to the growing list.
Mahmoud Suhail / ShutterstockAnd the store closures don't appear to be stopping there. On Dec. 5, the company filed another court document outlining an additional set of stores set to shut down in the coming months.
According to the latest list, the company says Connecticut will lose one additional location when it shutters its store in Ansonia. A location in Williston Park, New York, is also set to close. And California will be down another Rite Aid with the closure of a store in Palm Desert.
