Rite Aid Shutting Down More Stores as Total Closures Hit 694

Rite Aid is shutting down stores left and right with the closures currently affecting Michigan and Ohio residents.

Last week, the pharmacy chain closed 27 stores in Michigan and 13 in Ohio, WHTM reported on Sunday. The news means the chain has now shut down 694 stores since filing for bankruptcy in October.

The outlet noted:

That total, based on an abc27 News analysis of court filings and ScrapeHero data, is just six stores shy of the “worst-case scenario” of 700 stores forecast by one analyst shortly before the bankruptcy filing — a forecast which, in turn, was higher than those of other analysts, some of whom said the chain could close as few as 200 to 300 stores.

The 694 closed stores represent 34% of the 2,063 stores Rite Aid operated when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in 2023 amid poor sales and legal issues over its alleged role in the opioid crisis, AFP reported October 15.

“Rite Aid has one of the largest pharmacy networks in the United States, with 2,100 outlets selling medicines and health products as well as food and hygiene items,” the article noted.

WHTM reported on July 15 that Rite Aid had closed 24 percent of its stores in New York, 22 percent in California, and 20 percent in Pennsylvania:

Rite Aid store closures have topped 75 percent in Michigan and 74 percent in Ohio. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, those two states were reportedly the pharmacy chain’s fourth- and fifth-largest markets, per WHTM.

Rite Aid has faced difficulty keeping pace with stores such as CVS, Walgreens, and Target, and Rite Aid CEO Jeffrey Stein said the company was “burdened by unprofitable stores.”

Per the recent WHTM report, “Rite Aid will operates [sic] 58 stores in Michigan and 48 stores in Ohio, based on the abc27 analysis of court filings and ScrapeHero data.”