Many major companies have struggled to navigate the retail space throughout the COVID pandemic. From temporary shutdowns to shortages brought on by supply chain challenges, the past two years have caused a number of problems for retailers. As a result, some have decided to permanently reduce the amount of stores they have in order to try to maintain profits. In 2020, companies like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Bed Bath & Beyond were forced to shutter stores permanently, and those closures have continued in 2021 due to financial fallout from the pandemic. Now, one of the country's most popular drugstore chains says it will be closing around 60 of its stores. Read on to find out which retailer is getting ready to shut down dozens of locations in the coming months.
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Rite Aid is closing more than 60 of its stores.
ShutterstockRite Aid said on Dec. 21 that it plans to shutter at least 60 of its stores, per CNBC. The popular drugstore chain has not yet revealed which locations it will be closing or when they will close, but a total of 63 stores are on the chopping block. The closures will account for 2 percent of Rite Aid's retail footprint, as the company currently has around 2,500 stores across 19 states, according to CNN.
The drugstore chain said it's reassessing how many locations it needs in the U.S.
ShutterstockRite Aid's closures are part of its overall reassessment on how many locations it needs in the U.S. The company said closing stores will help "reduce costs, drive improved profitability and ensure that we have a healthy foundation to grow from, with the right stores in the right locations, for the communities it serves and for its business," Rite Aid said in a statement on Dec. 21. According to the drugstore chain, the closures are expected to save the company $25 million.
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This is not the first time the company has had to close several stores.
ShutterstockThis is not Rite Aid's first significant set of closures. In 2018, the drugstore chain transferred nearly 2,000 of its locations to Walgreens, as reported by Forbes. Walgreens bought 1,932 stores and three distribution centers from Rite Aid for nearly $4.4 billion. Despite the transition, Walgreens still closed hundreds of Rite Aid-turned-Walgreens locations in 2018 and 2019, per Louisville Business First.
And Rite Aid is not the only drugstore chain that's closing stores.
ShutterstockOther drugstore chains have been making serious cuts. In early November, Walgreens closed five of its stores in San Francisco. Later that month, CVS announced that it was planning to close more than 900 stores by the end of 2024. According to the drugstore chain, it will shutter about 300 stores every year for the next three years and closures will begin in the spring of 2022.
But unlike Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS each have more than 9,000 locations in the U.S. right now, compared to the roughly 2,500 Rite Aid locations, per Forbes. CVS is still closing a significant amount, as the shuttered locations will account for nearly 10 percent of all the company's stores.
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