Rite Aid has closed about 200 stores since its filing two months ago for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with potentially more retail locations to close in coming weeks and months.
When Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-October the drugstore chain didn’t say at that time how many stores would close. “In connection with the court-supervised process, the Company will continue assessing its footprint and close additional underperforming stores,” the company said at the time.
But the company’s website says Rite Aid now operates more than 1,900 drugstores across 16 states, according to the latest tally on the company’s website December 28. That figure is down more than 200 stores from the date of the bankruptcy filing October 15 when the company said it operated more than 2,100 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states.
“Rite Aid regularly assesses its retail footprint to ensure we are operating efficiently while meeting the needs of our customers, communities, associates and overall business,” Rite Aid said Thursday afternoon in a statement. “In connection with the court-supervised process, we notified the Court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance. At this time, we have not made or confirmed any decisions on additional specific store closures as part of our financial restructuring process.”
In a filing earlier this month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, the company revealed an additional 12 store closures. That group was preceded in November by a court filing documenting 31 store closures. And in late October, Rite Aid provided U.S. Bankruptcy Court with an initial list of 154 stores marked for closure.
Before the October bankruptcy filing, Rite Aid in July confirmed the closure of another 25 stores in its fiscal first quarter that ended June 3. That disclosure was made during a call to discuss quarterly earnings and an updated financial outlook that projected wider losses for fiscal 2024. Those closures are on top of the 145 unprofitable stores that Rite Aid announced in 2021 that closed from late 2021 throughout last year.
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