Rite Aid has been closing stores one by one, and the closures are now affecting residents in Michigan and Ohio.
Last week, the pharmacy chain closed 27 stores in Michigan and 13 in Ohio. report The news means the chain has closed 694 stores since filing for bankruptcy in October.
The media pointed out:
The total, based on an abc27 News analysis of court documents and ScrapeHero data, is just six stores below the “worst case scenario” of 700 stores predicted by one analyst shortly before the bankruptcy filing. That estimate was higher than other analysts’ predictions, some of whom said the chain may only close around 200 to 300 stores.
The 694 closed stores represent 34 percent of the 2,063 stores Rite Aid was operating at the time it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy in 2023 due to slumping sales and legal issues over its role in the opioid crisis, AFP reported on October 15.
“Rite Aid has one of the largest networks of pharmacies in the United States, selling medicines, health products, food and hygiene products at 2,100 stores,” the article noted.
WHTM reported on July 15 that Rite Aid Closed 24% of New York stores, 22% of California stores, and 20% of Pennsylvania stores.
Rite Aid’s store closures have exceeded 75% in Michigan and 74% in Ohio. Those two states were the pharmacy chain’s fourth- and fifth-largest markets before the bankruptcy filing, according to WHTM.
Rite Aid has struggled to keep up with stores like CVS, Walgreens and Target, and Rite Aid CEO Jeffrey Stein said the company is “plagued by unprofitable stores.”
According to a recent WHTM report, “Rite Aid [sic] There are 58 stores in Michigan and 48 in Ohio, according to an abc27 analysis of court documents and ScrapeHero data.
