Rite Aid, once the largest US pharmacy chain, has emerged from bankruptcy and is now a privately held company with a rightsized store footprint, more efficient operating model, significantly less debt, and additional financial resources. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2023, citing slumping sales and over a thousand stores. Since then, more than 520 Rite Aid pharmacies have closed.
Rite Aid is restructuring under creditor control after closing hundreds of stores. As the closure list grows, the future of its remaining locations remains uncertain. The pharmacy chain has already closed hundreds of stores, and its latest update is that it is closing 27 more locations as it continues through a bankruptcy proceeding. The store locations are in Ohio.
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy court protection from its creditors and vowed to remake the company as a “modern neighborhood”. The drugstore chain has shuttered almost 550 locations, with 160 Michigan stores and 111 Ohio stores reported in court papers filed between June and August. Under a new CEO appointed to oversee its restructuring, Rite Aid has closed hundreds of stores in the last few years.
Rite Aid will close all Michigan stores by the end of September, transferring customer prescriptions to Walgreens. The latest closures are happening in Ohio (15 stores) and Michigan (12 stores), according to court documents. According to court documents filed on Feb. 28, Rite Aid is planning to close 77 stores nationwide, including over 20 in California.
📹 The Decline of Rite Aid…What Happened?
One of America’s biggest drugstore chains has filed for bankruptcy. This video attempts to identify the reasons behind their …
Is Rite Aid going out of business in 2024 in the USA?
In consequence of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, Rite Aid stores in Michigan and Ohio are scheduled for closure. The most recent announcement of closures was made in August 2024.
Why is Rite Aid losing money?
Rite Aid is facing financial difficulties due to factors beyond its control, including record inflation, lower insurer payments, higher labor costs, lower demand for COVID vaccines and retail merchandise, higher theft, and the loss of key corporate clients. The chain has long-term leases for no-profit stores, including $80 million a year for closed stores. Rite Aid is relying on bankruptcy to exit these deals. Rumors of bankruptcy have also surfaced after hiring restructuring advisers in late 2022, and suppliers have demanded cash payments upfront instead of waiting for the company to sell their goods.
Why are Rite Aid stores closing in NYC?
Rite Aid has announced it will close 59 stores in New York.
The 59 locations amount to about 8. 4% of the 699 announced closings that Rite Aid has announced.
Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October to begin restructuring to significantly reduce its debt.
U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan approved Rite Aid’s bankruptcy plan at a court hearing in June in Trenton, New Jersey, allowing the pharmacy chain to cut $2 billion in debt and turn over control of the company to a group of its lenders, according to CNBC.
Rite Aid plans to exit from bankruptcy soon, funded by $2. 55 billion in financing provided by its lenders, according to Reuters.
Did Rite Aid CEO quit?
Rite Aid, a US pharmacy chain, has filed for bankruptcy after operating over 2, 000 retail pharmacy locations and planning to close 154 stores. The company now operates around 1, 700 retail pharmacy locations. In January 2023, CEO Heyward Donigan stepped down, and the board decided to identify the next leader. Elizabeth Burr was appointed as interim CEO, and in October, Stein took over as CEO and chief restructuring officer.
Now, CEO and chief restructuring officer, Bruce Bodaken, said that Schroeder is an excellent fit for the company due to his deep understanding of the business. Rite Aid is now beginning its next phase as a transformed company, thanks to the dedication of the entire organization.
Is Rite Aid losing money?
Rite Aid, a US pharmacy chain, has reported a $307 million loss between March and May 2023, and a loss of about $3 billion over the past six years. The company, which employed over 6, 100 pharmacists and operated 2, 100 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states, plans to close 154 stores nationwide. It now operates around 1, 416 stores in 16 states. Rite Aid also sold off some of its businesses, including its Elixir Solutions business, to MedImpact Healthcare Systems for $577 million in February. The company’s bankruptcy court documents indicate a significant reduction in its footprint.
Why is Rite Aid stock dropping?
Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy, indicating its intention to close additional stores and appoint a new chief executive officer as part of a restructuring plan.
Is Rite Aid making a comeback?
Rite Aid has completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11, announcing a stronger company with a larger store footprint, more efficient operating model, reduced debt, and additional financial resources. The company eliminated $2 billion of debt during the bankruptcy process and received $2. 5 billion in exit financing. Rite Aid’s CFO, Matt Schroeder, has been named CEO, replacing Jeffrey Stein, who served as CEO and chief restructuring officer during the bankruptcy process.
Why did Rite Aid collapse?
Rite Aid, the third-largest drugstore chain in the United States, has encountered considerable difficulties as a consequence of prolonged mismanagement and misguided decision-making. The company’s decision to file for bankruptcy in October was precipitated by the accumulation of liabilities associated with lawsuits pertaining to the distribution of opioids and the prevailing challenges within the retail pharmacy sector. In an article published by The Wall Street Journal, the company’s unfortunate history was detailed, with particular emphasis placed on the significant losses incurred over an extended period of time.
Why is Rite Aid empty?
Rite Aid, a US drugstore chain, filed for bankruptcy last year due to opioid-related lawsuits, slowing sales, and mounting debt. The company received approval from a bankruptcy court judge to restructure its business, allowing creditors to control it. Rite Aid has closed hundreds of stores to improve operations, with personal hygiene aisles nearly cleared out and household cleaning supplies scarce. The food aisles are hit or miss depending on the type of snack being sought.
Is Rite Aid being bought out?
In 2017, Walgreens announced the cancellation of its merger with Rite Aid, offering to purchase 2, 186 stores for $5. 18 billion, plus a $325 million cancellation penalty. A revised deal was made, with Walgreens purchasing 1, 932 locations for $4. 38 billion, approved by the FTC on September 19. The revised sale was completed in March 2018, leaving Rite Aid with around 2, 600 remaining stores. Three distribution centers and related inventory were transferred, and most stores were rebranded as Walgreens.
In February 2018, Albertsons announced plans to acquire the remainder of Rite Aid in a merger of equals, but the plan failed to please shareholders and was cancelled on August 8, 2018. In October 2020, Rite Aid announced the acquisition of Bartell Drugs, a Seattle-area chain, for $95 million, which faced criticism from customers due to staff turnover and computer system glitches.
What is the Rite Aid scandal?
The US government has filed a complaint alleging that Rite Aid knowingly dispensed at least hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances from May 2014 to June 2019. These prescriptions included the dangerous “trinity” combination of drugs, excessive quantities of opioids, and prescriptions issued by prescribers identified as suspicious. The government claims that Rite Aid filled these prescriptions despite clear “red flags” that indicated the prescriptions were unlawful.
Rite Aid also allegedly ignored substantial evidence of its stores dispensing unlawful prescriptions and intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers. The government alleges that Rite Aid violated the CSA and the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by knowingly dispensing unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances. The complaint names Rite Aid Corporation, Rite Aid Hdqtrs Corp., Rite Aid of Connecticut Inc., Rite Aid of Delaware Inc., Rite Aid of Maryland, Rite Aid of Michigan, Rite Aid of New Hampshire, Rite Aid of New Jersey, Rite Aid of Ohio, Rite Aid of Pennsylvania, and Rite Aid of Virginia as defendants.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) is entering into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with Rite Aid, which includes a prescription drug claims review to have an Independent Review Organization determine whether prescription drugs are properly prescribed, dispensed, and billed.
📹 Rite Aid set to close more stores: Here’s where
Rite Aid has announced plans to close more locations, adding to the nearly 200 it has closed since filing for Chapter 11 …
As someone who currently works for Rite Aid, another reason for their downfall was not using their resources wisely enough. For instance, Rite Aid no longer has the red, white, and blue logo anymore. It’s now a green and white logo that they changed to. Want to take a guess how much it cost to change every store’s sign and logo? Try $700 million! When we heard that, we couldn’t believe it. That was money that could have gone towards new equipment (our cash registers, for instance, aren’t the fastest) better technology, investing in staff, etc. Think about it; if you were the CEO of a company or business owner and you had $700 to invest, what would you spend it on? That money definitely would have come in handy when all the pharmacists and techs were leaving during the COVID nightmare when everyone was getting burned out.
I feel for founder Arnold Grass. He worked hard to make a profitable company, retired and his OWN SON ran it into the ground and went to jail! Damn. I have not been in a Rite Aid for years. Having viewed several of these articles, ive noticed that 9 times out of 10 these companies get into financial trouble when they try to expand. IDK. I get that you have to keep moving forward, but I think that most of these companies should get to a certain number of stores, then stop and say “We cant run effeciently with anymore than this. Lets just concentrate on what we got. As long as its profitable.”
I used to work at Rite Aid as a Shift Supervisor, it was honestly horrible! We were very understaffed and overworked, not to mention the amount of theft we had to deal with. I also think Rite Aids distrust to employees was another factor to its downfall due to how much they would keep an eye on employees, and I heard it was through AP by multiple sources. Also the change to target another market audience was not enough to drive sales forward
The whole pharmacy industry’s staffing model often results in grossly understaffed pharmacies where just a few people have to process, bill to insurance, fill hundreds to thousands of prescriptions (and make sure each is safe for the patient!) as well as give out tons of vaccines, answer near constant ringing phones, and deal with large volumes of customer service. I worked in a pharmacy for 6 years and I witnessed many new pharmacist graduates who were over $100k in student debt start excited and get burnt out within a year or two, and despite spending many years preparing for their role decide to leave the career track to pursue other lines of work.
I worked as a supervisor there for over 5 years. Our store was in a small town and was actually really profitable. However, they spent so money on dumb shit it blew my mind. I just left a couple months ago due to how much they cut the payroll. I was full time and couldn’t get more than 34 hours a week because there was “not enough hours” while the manager committed serious time theft:) crazy time. They have what’s coming to them
Rite-Aid bought a regional drug chain in Michigan called Perry Drugs, back in the late 80s or early 90s. The stores almost immediately went downhill. They became dirtier, were out-of-stock more often, and lost that neighborhood feel. They basically became worse than other options, so they made it easy for former Perry customers to go to supermarkets or other Rx providers. They seemed to be too focused on growth and achieving a national footprint than on their day-to-day operations.
Like many other commenters, I fondly remember a regional pharmacy chain that Rite Aid acquired and assimilated. Here in the Carolinas, it was Eckerd Drug. Eckerd stores were everywhere in the 20th century. Then Rite Aid bought them, and the stores were rebranded or closed. Today, all the Rite Aid stores in my area have closed, and Eckerd is a distant memory.
I used to go to rite aid for flu shots but not anymore after this years experience. The website made it sound like I was scheduling an appointment for the current week when it was actually 3-4 weeks away. Every time I went in person to ask if I could do a walk in flu shot they had a different excuse to say no. Ended up going to CVS.
I was a pharmacist for Rite Aid for a while. The company made moronic decision after moronic decision while ignoring the basics for so long that I’m honestly surprised they haven’t gone out of business yet. I will say they had, by far, the best/most sophisticated/fastest pharmacy computer system (NexGen). Way better than CVS or Walgreens.
I worked at Rite aid for about 6 years…all around pretty terrible executive and district management. They just churned through store managers in my area. It almost felt combative towards their employees under certain leadership…they didn’t care or invest in their employees. Once I left to better run companies I can see the major flaws with their HR side of the business. I left when I saw there was no viable future back in 2014.
Rite Aid took over Thrifty Drugs in my area and pretty much destroyed them. I had to take my prescriptions to another drug store because Rite Aid kept dropping the ball on prescriptions for things like insulin. The employees went from friendly to nasty in about the time it took to change the signs on the stores.
The worst is that even while losing so bad for so long, they kept acquiring local chains for no reason! The one that hurt was Bartell’s (Seattle area chain) – you would often see a Bartell’s, a Rite Aid and a Walgreens all within walking distance of each other, but in some places Bartell’s was the only option. Bartells was friendly, nice, local and had good staff. Once purchased, they closed down most of the locations and gutted the rest down to bare bones before closing them too. Bartell’s was purchased in October 2020 – 3 years before this bankruptcy.
It’s a shame, they were the first store I worked at as a lowly Pharmacy Tech years ago. When a Wal-Mart opened across the street with the $4 plan for many medications, that hurt. Instead of upgrading the pharmacy with more space, hiring more techs for faster service, or price-matching the $4 plans if a patient asked…they put money towards trying to keep the Wal-Mart from being opened. They bribed local politicians, which was in the news but the papers deleted the articles since. Today there is a Wal-Mart there but the Rite-Aid pharmacy has lost over 60% of the pharmacy Rxs. Cozy’s former peer as a Tech is currently the RPh, but is moving to that very Wal-Mart very shortly. TL;DR This isn’t shocking they’re going the way of Sears and K-Mart.
They really started losing customers when they discontinued the rewards program. Gold level gave me 20% off most things in the store. It made everything reasonably priced and I would browse around and impulse buy all kinds of products. More recently they raised prices and are even stingy with the ac. Its always stuffy in there.
I noticed that despite all the acquisitions over the decades, Rite Aid currently only has stores in 17 states – mostly in the northeast and pacific time zone. Virginia is the only southern state with Rite Aid and Ohio & Michigan are the only midwestern states. Idaho, Nevada, & Vermont only have a few stores each. Thus it is really a regional chain rather than a truly national one.
I used to have Rite Aids in my town and they were all over Kentucky, but Walgreens bought all of the Rite Aid stores in the state of Kentucky. Rite Aid now has a partnership with Amazon where you can order Rite Aid products and their branded OTC medicine on the Amazon website, and Rite Aid and Amazon is fulfilling the orders, not a third party private seller. Great for people who no longer have access to a Rite Aid store in their area anymore. I even stopped at a Rite Aid in Washington, PA on my way home from a family reunion in Connecticut and was able to use my Rite Aid rewards again I could not use anymore in Kentucky except for their online store. A lot of former Rite Aid stores Walgreens didn’t want to keep are now Dollar Tree stores in my area.
I stopped going to my nearest Rite-Aid because of constant miscommunications with the pharmacy staff and ridiculous wait times for the amount of customers actually in the store. That store is surprisingly not on the closure list. There are no decent pharmacy chains left in America. They are all horrible.
I worked at a Rite Aid while in college when photos when from being on film to digital. I think one downfall is digital photos. A good part of the business was developing photos. People would come in, get their film developed, and shop around. When things went digital, people had no reason to come in anymore.
Great article, I’ve always been curious about this company. In my area we had several Brooks pharmacies, and they all turned to Rite Aids in the mid-2000s like you mentioned. Now those Rite Aids are all Walgreens. Between those and the dozen CVS stores in my area, I don’t even remember the last time I saw a Rite Aid.
Rite-Aid took over Eckerd by me and it has been a terrible place to go ever since. We used them for rx for awhile but too many times they didn’t have the meds we needed. The final straw was when my daughter got sick and they kept telling me to come back and every time i came back theyd move when they’d have it in and after like a week someone finally told us they didn’t know why the others kept stringing us along, they were almost definitely not getting that med in any time soon if at all. Haven’t been back since. It’s 6 blocks from my house but I drive 20min to not have to deal with them.
I was literally about to suggest this and then I see this in my feed. Thank you Company Man for putting out such wholesome, informative quality content. You take subjects like finances which maybe boring to many and make the articles entertaining, without resorting to anger, swearing, or unnecessary jump cuts, just calmly talking about something you’re passionate about. Good job, man. Thought the decline articles are always a bit depressing. Sad reminders of how a company can be on top of the world one day and become absolute nobody later on.
I’m from California and some of the older people I know still refer to Rite Aid as Thrifty. I always wondered why. That being said, do other Rite Aids across the country carry the Thrifty brand ice cream? That ice cream counter has always been what has made Rite Aid stand out to me. Quite honestly I prefer going to Rite Aid for ice cream than a Baskin Robbins, plus those scoopers are iconic.
Here in Cali back in the day we had a chain of drugstores called Thrifty. Always went there to buy whatever small things I needed and the occasional foodstuffs and other home related things. However in my town we all went there to get the Thrifty ice cream. Whether it was on the cone or in the take home boxes, they were the best. I remember as a kid when it was announced that Thrifty was becoming Rite Aid, I was so upset with it. Thankfully they still kept the Thrifty brand ice cream and still sell it to this day. Sad that Rite Aid has been messing up, I hope they can rebound.
Rite Aid bought Thrifty’s, and kept their iconic ice cream (them and Tillamook are my go-tos), to which I am eternally thankful. They’re also the closest pharmacy to me, so I do appreciate the company. Thank you for doing this episode. I truly had no idea what was going on. Tangent: there were several companies that impacted me as a kid (just turned 50), and would LOVE a deep dive on Gemco, Zody’s, or BEST. Regional fast food chains Pioneer and Pup & Taco would be epic as well. Seriously, thanks for all you do!
One just closed in my town last week. They moved to a new location in town about 10-15 years ago. I don’t even know the exact year, because they made themselves that irrelevant to my life. They used to be in the shopping center, but decided to build a new store across the main town square. Then CVS built a store next to the shopping center. So I haven’t been in my local Rite Aid for anything for 10-15 years. I used to go there all the time for over 25 years. The new store layout was completely bizarre. It’s hard to believe they’re still pretending to be a drug store. It’s like someone’s personal vanity project. They want people to know they exist. But there is no reason for their existence.
We were a rite aid family growing up because it was close to my house, and I stopped in often to get a little treat for myself with my allowance after middle school since it was directly on the way home, and I walked. There aren’t any rite aids where I live now so I never go there, I just go to whatever is cheaper. And usually I just fill my two monthly scripts at the grocery store chain I used to work for because not only are their drug prices pretty good, but I know they have reasonable prices on other items I might need. There’s always a huge mark up at drug stores.
There are still a couple of Rite Aid stores in my local area, but I’ve never really shopped at them. The only time I ever went into them was when I would pick up prescriptions for my mother-in-law (when she was alive). She liked them as she got older because they would deliver to her house, but when she needed stuff in a hurry she would often ask me or my wife to pick them up for her. Since she passed, I don’t think I’ve been in one since. They, along with CVS, just have prices that are too high compared to the local WalMart or supermarket chains, all of which also offer prescription service, so there’s really no reason to go in any of dedicated drug stores.
The Rite Aid store near my home used to Payless before Rite Aid acquired it in 2000’s lucky still stay after the company filed for bankruptcy days ago, but sadly there are four stores in San Diego announced to close as the plan to close over 100 stores across the US for the company to restructure, there were few stores in SD closed before the news announced that they go bankrupt, and I doubt more closure will be coming up beside those set to close.
I live near one of their pilot stores and when they changed the logo to the current one, they tested a new layout in these select (I believe there are 3 in total) stores. Everything is very spread apart and the men’s section is on the opposite side of the store from the women’s. Most of the lighting is natural lighting. All in all, as someone who takes pictures of businesses at different stages of their lives and has seen many stores go out, it reminds me a lot of a closing store. It is no surprise that no one likes the renovations, so it never got passed on to other stores.
For a while, there was literally a Rite-aid every block or every other block down some roads of my town. What’s the point of having these stores so close to each other? Financial irresponsibility like this doesn’t end there, it’s obviously more spread than that and answers why Rite Aid is failing now.
My mother and I used to walk to the local rite aid when I was in elementary school. She called it “The Treat Store”. I used to be really big into article games, my mother purchased my favorite article game of all time for me from Rite Aid when I was 9 or 10 years old. I have a lot of nostalgia for this company
Everywhere around me, all the Rite Aids were either turned into Walgreens or closed outright Some even turned into Walgreens and closed. One even went in reverse and turned from a Walgreens to a Rite Aid…and closed not too long after only to become a CVS. I must’ve missed the fact the sale of the company didn’t go through, because I assumed that it did and was surprised any RA’s were still around. Anyway, it was always the store that was there that had candy in it that I’d frequent after holidays. That’s my only connection to it.
I started to need prescription drugs on a steady basis in 1997. The nearest pharmacy to where I lived at that time was a RiteAid. Couple years later. I changed jobs and the benefits package I had required that you get meds by mail. Then I moved to Florida and discovered that RiteAid basically didn’t exist there. So I haven’t dealt with them since perhaps 2005. And even though I’ve been a pharmacy tech since 2004, I never considered working for them.
So funny that this is a company that you decided to review. My very first job ever was as a cashier at a Rite Aid in California. I’ve since moved to a handful of other states but have yet to see Rite Aid’s presence in any other state like it was when I was a high schooler in California. CVS is the convenience store I shop at now.
just pieced together after seeing 4 different michigan rite aids closing… They closed the michigan distribution center even! I went into the Warren location and it looked like it hasn’t been updated in 40 years. My girlfriend picked up some 20 year old CDs that were probably behind a shelf their whole life
Also, a article on the rise and fall of the American subsidiary of LJ Hooker and its control and demise of the department stores Bonwit Teller, B. Altman, and Sakowitz would be awesome! No YouTuber seems to have dived into depth with that story, but it’s a huge, tumultuous, and interesting chapter in American retail history.
I miss their presence in my city! There were only four of them, but in large, substantial locations and provided a good alternative in things Walgreens offered. Sadly they all closed here and Walgreens took over most of the spaces but in current times Walgreens is now closing too many stores to count!
First there was Eckerd, and that was a pretty cool pharmacy chain. Then they went under and got bought out by Rite Aid, which was okay. And now they’re gone too, and all that’s left are a bunch of iconically-shaped buildings that might now be a trampoline playground or a discount beauty shop or something. If you’re young enough, you might not think much of it, but if you’re of a certain age or older, you’ll remember. RIP Rite Aid and Eckerd 💐
In my tweens, we switched from Rite Aid (after using Eckert). The location I had used closed this year, and it’s right across from a CVS (who also isn’t doing too hot as the CVS we used immediately after the change is now closing, leaving that area without that form of grocery outside of a weekly or so farmers market)
I’ve followed rite aid around most places I’ve lived. My current location has some top notch staff at the pharmacy but not much use for the rest of the store (granted the big 3 pharmacies seem about the same overpriced personal goods, junk food, holiday decor etc) They updated the exterior but didn’t touch the interior. While waiting for a script looking around I marvel at how dated the interior looks. I wondered if they could make some extra revenue being a movie set for any large retailer in 1991. everything is faded pink, baby blue, and aqua I’m also just old enough to remember perry and arbor
This is anecdotal, but they seem like a train wreck from my perspective. They bought the Bartells near me where I used to get a prescription. The first thing I noticed was much longer lines (I think due to fewer or worse staff) at the prescription window, and sometimes they didn’t have my prescription ready when they said they would. As soon they switched to Rite Aid’s systems, somehow my “profile information” got mixed up with someone of a somewhat similar name. My address was suddenly somewhere I had never lived, wrong insurance provider on record, wrong almost everything, but somehow they still had my prescription under my name. Took 45mins, a few phone calls, and many angry glares from people behind me in line to fix. I don’t go there anymore. Get my prescription by mail and I’m just waiting for the store to close from mis-management. Was a good store before, never had any complaints.
It’s saddens me because my local store is closing as a result of this bankruptcy Out west the biggest draw to Rite Aid is the thrifty ice cream brand which is by far the most valuable asset that they own They actually have ice cream stands in the Southern California stores and you can buy ice cream cones or you could go to the Cold Case and buy quarts of that magical stuff That is the only reason why I go to rite aid is that thrifty ice cream is the best ice cream period thrifty is a legendary brand in the southern California area and gives brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs ice cream a run for their money I could care less about the actual rite aid drug store what I care about is thrifty ice cream in my opinion It should be spun off into its own ice cream company if Rite Aid ever goes away
I tried getting a job at one. They sent me all this info to go through that was VERY inclusivity and diversity heavy (like a lot of places have that as a core concept and it’s part of the info you get, for Rite Aid it was the only thing), which was a little suspicious amd made me think they had gotten in trouble. Then before the interview I was warned that they wouldn’t pay me what I was asking for (1 dollar over base pay at places like Walmart because they wanted me to be a shift supervisor) and they told me their pay for a shift supervisor was 2 dollars less than Walmart’s base pay WAIT how was Rite Aid buying another small chain a violation of anti-trust laws, yet T-mobile was allowed to purchase Sprint?
Great article, just one complaint that is with basically any “the decline of” after Toys R Us: When the music is that quiet, you may as well remove it. It’s a fitting song for these series, and I am glad you continue to use it. However, when I watch these articles, I usually play Don’t Look myself, but at a more appropriate volume. I shouldn’t have to grab headphones.
I quickly realized rite aid was doing poorly when the one in my town that had been open for a decade was suddenly practically overnight bought and converted to a cvs that combined with seeing another 5 cvs stores in my area convinced me that rite aid is close to its death and this article sadly confirms it if something doesn’t change soon it’ll be another blockbuster Kmart story
Rite Aid story that happened TODAY soon after this article was posted. I went in to just get some quick cheap vitamins for $10 and they had overcharged me TWICE for a total of $80 (still trying to get it sorted too). So right now at least I’m glad to see them go under. I had no idea they filed for bankruptcy until recently. I visited back home for a weekend and my local Rite Aid was completely closed down and vanished within only a month. They’ve also given several family members of mine a hard time getting prescriptions in the past, overall just a mess of a company.
The shelves were emptied due to shoplifting in many NYC stores. There didn’t seem to be much emphasis on loss prevention. A lot of people assumed that was the reason for closures. It’s too bad because in many sections of my neighborhood Washington Heights it’s the only major retailer of basic pharmacy and grocery items
It’s fascinating to see how a combination of internal mismanagement and external pressures have contributed to its decline. The part about the accounting fraud was particularly shocking! 😲 I’m curious, do you think there’s a way for Rite Aid to turn things around, or is it too late for them? Have you had any personal experiences with Rite Aid that have shaped your opinion of the company? Thanks for the insightful article!
The Rite Aid I used to work at was union. The workers there were uncooperative to both managers and customers. They knew they couldn’t get fired, and acted like it to customers and managers. I couldn’t even tell them to sweep the floor; I had to do it. I left that place immediately, and I’m not surprised they’re facing bankruptcy
Not only is Rite Aid/CVS/Walgreens a drug store but they’re also a convenient store. So they’re not only in competition with themselves but also gas stations & super markets. Plus, with a Walmart or Dollar General down the street that’s much cheaper or even ordering off Amazon then it’s pretty easy so see how they’re declining.
As a West Virginia resident, the opioid crisis was definitely inflated by big drug stores. In a lot of towns you can’t find a grocery store, but you can certainly find a CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc. I’ve seen some people defending these chains, stating it’s not their fault people misused the medication. I can tell you as a former pharmacy tech, you absolutely have a duty to identify and prevent misuse and abuse. The sad part for the Rite-Aid pharmacists is they did in fact note this, and the notes were hidden / deleted by corporate. These pharmacy chains thrived on the suffering of some of the country’s most vulnerable.
Interesting that his son went to prison his daughter many years ago, came in and used dad‘s name to purchase a car from my dealership in Virginia and never made a payment so I had actually had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Grass as he came in to square the bill After he found out what his daughter had done. he was a very nice man
I grew up with Rite Aid being the local pharmacy, so there is a little bit of nostalgia value. That said, I’ve worked for CVS for a long time, and I’ve even worked in some of the stores that used to be a Rite Aid. Currently, CVS has a workers union, which was only implemented because it was grandfathered in from the Rite Aid stores. At first, only the former Rite Aid stores had unions (aside from a very limited number of stores whose employees opted to forming one), but the company decided to make all CVS locations part of the union. We have Rite Aid to thank for that. There’s something homey about Rite Aid, but I only ever seek out a CVS for prescriptions. I don’t like walgreens, and it’s not just because I used to work at CVS. Also, CVS is a horrible place to work, I don’t want to give off the wrong impression. Don’t work in a pharmacy, even in the retail storefront. Retail is dying quick, you’d be lucky to find a career in it anymore.
I had been a longtime Rite Aid customer for many years, but left after the rebrand. As I work in branding, it was disgusting how a legacy brand threw away all the brand recognition and went with a trendy (not timeless) rebrand. The logo was generic, I will say the colors were a least a bit of a differentiator to the red heavy competitors, but overall a massive misstep. Once I saw what they spent on that ill-conceived branding and how quickly they flipped the typical pharmacy vibe into a 1990’s Sizzler (fake plants, really?) – I was out.
I used to operate on the “use whichever is nearest” method but insurance companies now are starting to demand that you use specific pharmacies or else your insurance won’t cover your prescriptions. My previous insurance required me to use CVS and my new one won’t LET me use CVS. Just one more way for the healthcare system to be predatory af.
The competition thing really hit home and I miss the service and rewards program. I really enjoyed visiting a former Rite Aid in western Maryland (now a Walgreens) and talking life with the front cashier. A different Rite Aid in my town was a small outdated store when Wal Greens and CVS built newer stores. But now I keep my prescriptions in a neighborhood pharmacy and I love it.
When I was a kid, my family always went to New Orleans in the summer until 2006. We always stayed at the Pontchartrain Hotel. I have vivid memories of going to the Rite Aid on St. Charles and Louisiana Ave. I live here now for grad school. They just demolished that Rite Aid. I don’t even remember what it was like inside very well (beyond being your typical Rite Aid) but I always loved the logo for some reason.
I still tend to shop at rite aid a lot simply because its closer to me than any other drug store and this rite aid is open 24/7 and everything else seems to be closed when im on my way home from work at 1am. However, im pretty sure its one of the stores closing. So i wont be shoping there for very long.
I would replace “competition” with “lack of focus”. That’s the real reason the competition took hold. I worked at Rite Aid for a couple years around 2008, sometimes at different locations working on “special projects” and let me tell you, Rite Aid was like a tweaker on meth. They would start a rewards program just to replace it a few months later. We’d change an isles planogram just to change it again a month later. There house brands would suddenly change names. All that money spent switching displays, cancelling programs to launch new programs and change house brands packaging for no apparent reason but they let their stores fall apart. Photo labs fell into disrepair, registers where outdated and overloaded with the repeated switching of systems, the stores just looked ghetto. It was not a good place to shop. And to top it off, at least in my district, inventory and ordering was a joke. Something had to be wrong with the system, you’d order 0 of something and then the next 3 shipments would contain a fuck ton of that thing. Then you’d order a bunch of something and they’d send you 1.
Our last one within 6 city span just closed. I used to love going to it as a kid. It was like a smaller target or Walmart but Bigger than the CSV or Walgreens. But it just seemed to big at one point then about 15 years ago it just closed off half of the store to down grade. Then they took out the outside garden area for a few years then brought it back. Now it’s fully shut down. It’s been on its last leg for over 5 years. Mom liked the beer deals there for her supply runs since she owns multiple bars. Our was actually much cheaper beer and liquor wise compared to a Costco or wholeseller.
I have 2 Rite Aid stores in my town within a mile of each other. One of them needs to close, as both stores are kind of struggling. Understaffed, overpriced products, and the pharmacy part even sucks. Long wait times, frequent mistakes, and pharmacists that don’t seem to care if they give you the wrong pills.
Our rite aid closed years ago. A Walgreens moved in but then moved to a new building across the street. Now the food lion I work at might knock the walls down in that spot and the one next to it (where a salvation army was until a couple weeks ago) and make a bigger store. You can still see the ghost of the “photo” sign above the spot.
I knew something was severely off when these pharmacy chains started rapidly expanding and the town that I was living in at the time had a new Walgreens, a new Rite Aid, a new CVS, and a long-standing local pharmacy all catercorner with one another at a single four-way intersection. The local pharmacy went under almost immediately and the other three failed over the next couple of years. A Subway sandwich replaced the local pharmacy and the other three were replaced by a liquor store, a gas station, and a large apartment complex. At the time I was shocked at the overall level of irresponsibility that went into opening three national chains that offer essentially the exact same product all in such close proximity of each other. The only real “victim” was the decades-old pharmacy that had to close shop because of the irresponsibility of these three national chains.
My local pharmacy, up until this past Monday (10/23/2023), was a Rite Aid. Their shelves had less and less items getting close to the closing day, but oddly no signage saying that this particular location was closing. It wasn’t until about a week before close that they stated that the store was closing. Had to transfer my scripts to the next closest pharmacy which is, coincidentally enough, another Rite Aid.
I realized that Rite Aid wasn’t doing okay when I went in there one day in 2017 after work (it was on the way home) for some Tylenol. Over the intercom system they were announcing the pharmacy was no longer accepting Tricare insurance. If you never heard of Tricare they are the insurance that the Military uses as well as Veterans.
We live very close to both a Rite Aid and a CVS. Unfortunately, the Rite Aid in this location is in an older building that was once some other store. There is something haggard and uncomfortable about the interior of this location, and I tend to not shop there. In contrast, the nearby CVS (only a block and a half away from Rite Aid) is clean, bright, well-organized, and well-stocked. The atmosphere there is quite nice.
The reason my family and I do not patronize Rite Aid had to do with the murder of acquaintances of mine at one of their stores. One of their managers was murdered in a robbery. No film was found, cameras just for show. He was asking for a transfer repeatedly which went unanswered. I’ll take my business to any drug store even if 5 of them exist within a 10 minute drive of me compared to any competitor.
I remember my final visit. They demanded I sign up for the “Discount Card” (always bad news). The application asked for my phone #, which I refused to give. The lady manager acted like I was a criminal, said I “had to” provide it. I lost my mind, screamed the place down. They did let me pay for my items. Never went back.
Another problem facing Rite Aid – in my opinion – is they went from a store offering competitive prices, to a chain where you’d often pay significantly more than other local options. This led to many Rite Aids practically being a morgue whenever I visited them (more out of boredom, than anything else), since everyone realized they’d be saving money by going somewhere else instead (such as Kroger).
I worked for Rite Aid for 21 years. They really started to decline 2 years ago. They took away the biggest thing that brought customers in. The points system. If a customer was at a gold level status after so many purchases, they could get I think 20% off their bill. When they got rid of it, it drove a lot of people away. Plus the prices are just too outrageous on many items. Even before I left the store I worked at wasn’t that busy. It remains open for now.
We had to wait over 3 hours at Rite Aid for a prescription only for them to tell us to come back tomorrow. Came back tomorrow they said 4 hours. Came back and they said not until monday. IT was a ANTIBIOTIC THAT NEEDED TO BE STARTED THAT DAY! Plenty more issues too. We switched all of our scripts to walgreens.
When I was a teenager there was a RiteAid near my school. They kept the alcohol by the door and didn’t have surveillance. Management was so lazy they would literally turn their backs when we stole booze. This happened for a couple years until they got shut down. They had like zero customers and 3 employees. I have no idea if the booze was why they closed. It’s possible it wasn’t. Anyway, my friends and I had some great parties thanks to RiteAid.
Here’s a “money move” summary of David Morales’s take on the decline of Rite Aid: David Morales delves into the factors contributing to the decline of Rite Aid, once a dominant player in the pharmacy retail sector. He examines the series of strategic missteps, market challenges, and financial difficulties that led to the company’s downturn. Morales highlights key events, such as the unsuccessful merger attempts with Walgreens and Albertsons, and the growing competition from larger chains like CVS and online retailers like Amazon. He also discusses internal issues, including management changes and restructuring efforts that failed to revive the company’s fortunes. Morales’s analysis provides a comprehensive overview of Rite Aid’s struggles, offering insights into the broader retail pharmacy landscape and the lessons that can be learned from the company’s fall from grace.
I have 2 Rite Aids within walking distance of my house, with a couple stores as part of a smaller Egyptian chain and one independent my family has gone to for decades. One of those Rite Aids was an Eckerds, which had taken over another independent: Genovese (which I also frequented). While we get our prescriptions filled at the independent (although probably not for much longer–they’ve gone down in quality with new ownership), their shelves are usually for shit and I end up at one of the two Rite Aids for other purchases. Or, I did before their stock became a joke and they started locking shit up behind glass where you have to wait forever to get someone to open. They suffered from poor management and bad decisions, their downfall is their own doing.
Rite Aid was a great store with lousey leadership. Not only did they overextended itself, they were just as bad downsizing itself. In my neighborhood alone, there were five Rite Aids at its peak. They closed the two stores closest to me which were six blocks apart despite being close to several blocks of neighborhood home offices nicknamed doctors’ row. Meanwhile, they kept two stores two blocks away from each other in the northern part. After the bankruptcy, many of the stores have issues keeping shelves stocked. It is hard to see how Rite Aid survives this without being bought out.
I can’t find a nearby Rong Aid … and I live in one of the country’s 15 largest cities … they were building one nearby in 1996 and closed it BEFORE IT EVER OPENED … sold another to a local (one store) grocer … I never see ads for Left Aid … they offer no reason (nor location) to choose them….
I’m a 25-year west coast Rite aid veteran who grew up with Thrifty Payless(and the two separate chains that merged to form it years before Rite Aid acquired them).My first store closed in summer 2018 and my current store(in the same town in the Sacramento suburbs)is just days away from closing.Both are former Thrifty locations(though my previous store relocated early on).My reassignment store(replacement for a former Payless several miles from my current store as well as my home)is a stronger performer so it should survive.I began during the Martin Grass regime but it was Heyward Donigan that went for the kill(and put this company in an even worse position that the founder’s crooked son).
My local store of 25 years just closed. It was the only pharmacy in town, then we got Meijer and then Walgreens, each on the corners from RA. Mine was stuck in the 90s with signage and even had products on the shelves from 2010- books whose pages are yellow and VHS and DVDs. How do you not see these old products? I feel they never invested into their stores. Kinda like Kmart. Took too long to realize the issues. As a former JCPenney manager, I see the issues and it all stems from the top. Big corporate gurus trying to make their mark. They never listen to the employees or probably set foot in the store and actually worked. I love Rite Aid and am glad there are some still open near me. I love getting all my freebies
When I was a kid, there was a Drug Fair right near the house that got turned into a Rite Aide. At some point, CVS moved into town in a further shopping center and Rite Aide closed. I don’t remember which happened first. That CVS would later build a whole new building even further away. It was outside of walking distance, but at least in a shopping center with our one and only grocery store so you could stop at both. Now, it’s an extra trip if you need both. And with our piss poor transportation of a buss that only runs once an hour four days a week from 6-5, a trip to both take around three hours unless you have a car. Our only other drug store is a local pharmacy on the other side of town. My diabetic friend lives within walking distance of that one, and they even started delivery, but his insurance only allows him to fill prescriptions at CVS. And he can’t drive so that’s a regular bus trip. I hate this country…
We had several within a radius spanning across several small towns here in our rural area. They went through a big change there for a bit with renovating all the stores and updating them to be more modern … but it didn’t help lol. I remember my sister working at one at the turn of 2000 and hanging out with her in the store because it was always so barren. Hardly anyone ever went in those places. When they started closing down, I remember them saying it was because there just wasn’t enough traffic here to keep the doors open. They were going in the red compared to Walmart and lost most of their customers that would get their prescriptions filled there. Well, when the doors finally closed … a few months later we started seeing signs go up for Walgreens — “COMING SOON” It wasn’t because we are in a rural area, it was because Rite-Aid sucked with advertising and pricing. They kept upping the prices on basic items and prescriptions, so more and more just stopped going there to shop. Most people I knew that stopped in one only went in to check out their liquor lol. Now every Rite-Aid in a 50 mile radius has become a Walgreens or CVS … and they’re thriving just fine. I always see vehicles in their parking lots and there’s always several others shopping when I stop in.
I live in the Provo-Orem area of Utah and there were 2 Rite Aids. One in Provo and one in Orem. The one in Provo became a Spirit Halloween store (which seems to be pretty common for most stores that close) and the Orem Rite Aid became a VA Center after they did some renovation work on it. And I think I saw one in Vegas near Nellis that became an Aaron’s. Which is basically an electronic store like Rent-a-Center. I was there only a couple months ago. The one in Vegas still has its Rite Aid shape so when someone sees it, they’ll go “oh that looks like it used to be a Rite Aid, the one in Provo was in a shopping center between two other stores and the one in Orem did an entire renovation and changed shape and if you were new to the area you’d never think a Rite Aid was ever there.
I live in west Los Angeles. Rite aid has had some very questionable locations near me, for almost as long as I can remember, they had two locations in the heart of Beverly Hills a mere three blocks apart from each other. They closed one of them a year or two ago, but it was always a mystery to me why they would lease so much redundant space in the heart of one of the most expensive parts of the city.
I miss the old Rite Aid. It was my favorite store when we had them here in central WV. They were in almost every town here and its where people did most of their shopping. I thought it was the coolest looking store as well since i was a little kid. I really hate that they remodeled. It looks like trash compared to the iconic look they had. I would love to have the old Rite Aid back but not the new one. They are not the same store as they were 7 years ago. They closed all their stores in WV leaving many towns without a place to shop for basic items. Its really sad to see whats happened. Turned from the perfect and best store in my opinion to a very sad memory. I will always remember the good memories Rite Aid brought that no store i think ever will.
I stopped frequenting my local Rite Aid years ago! Honestly, most of the stores in my area have closed because of underperformance and really bad issues with shrinkage (theft). The only reason I visit Rite Aid these days is because they have an Amazon locker where I can safely receive product when I’m not home so as to avoid porch pirates stealing my stuff.
For a long time I lived about a minute’s drive away from a Rite Aid and I went there often and really liked it. In recent years they had entire shelves that were empty or seriously depleted. I thought it was tied to COVID and maybe some of it was but seeing this article it makes a lot more sense, because they haven’t rebounded along with recovery from the pandemic. Now I live a little farther away, but whenever I do swing by there to get something, they almost always don’t have it. So I don’t shop there anymore, and it won’t surprise me if it’s one of the locations that gets shut down. We have a few Walgreens in the area as well as a CVS. I can’t stand CVS and Walgreen’s is hit-and-miss but at least they are both more likely to have items in stock.
I worked for them when I was in college during the early to mid 90s. Crap employer. Poor pay, no benefits. The only full time employees in the store were the managers who worked 50-60 hours a week for miserable pay. None of the Rite Aid stores had a break room for lunches. Let’s not forget the dollar trick they played on us. Security had to make their quotas so they’d plant a dollar on the floor. If an employee found it and put it in his pocket he was fired for stealing. If they go out of business well good for them.
I worked at rite aid for 3 years in two stores and merchandised a couple as well. every one i saw was just trashy. employees who were rude, customers who’d do drugs in the bathroom, the place mostly survived on alcoholics and cigarette addicts. there was one cashier that’s still there after 20 years that tells her life story to everyone that comes in and other customers are visibly annoyed. our store was kept up pretty well but lower income neighborhoods were just messy as hell and the employees were even more rude
I work for Walgreens and I fear they’re making the same mistake—over extending. We are buying out rite aid pharmacies left and right and can barely staff our own pharmacies before the buyouts. The instant influx of new patients overwhelms to staff and kills the store. It’s a huge turn off to the new patients and most of them transfer out. Meanwhile our regulars are neglected and get pissed as service suffers, and many of them leave as well.