Rite Aid Closes 27 More Stores Amid Bankruptcy Proceedings

Rite Aid has announced the closure of 27 stores as the embattled pharmaceutical chain continues its debt restructuring under its current bankruptcy proceedings.

The store closures were first announced back in 2023, and more than 150 stores were affected by the announcement. However, according to FOX Business, 27 more stores in two states are closing as well.

The news came after the pharmaceutical chain filed an updated “notice of additional closing stores” in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey on Monday, June 17. The stores affected are in Michigan and Ohio.

Rite Aid said in mid-October that it would enter bankruptcy as part of a reorganization to “significantly reduce the Company’s debt, increase its financial flexibility and enable it to execute on key initiatives.” Since then, it has been under Chapter 11 protections.

“The court-supervised process provides Rite Aid with legal tools to accelerate our footprint optimization in an efficient and orderly manner,” CEO Jeffrey Stein said at the time. “We look forward to working closely with our landlords to determine the best path forward for each of our stores.”

This news comes despite the chain’s previous efforts to open “mini-marts” in pharmacy deserts.

The first establishment, which occupied 3,000 square feet, debuted in the middle of November 2022 in the 900-person community of Craigsville, Virginia. Previously, residents needed pharmacy services and had to drive to nearby communities. The typical size of a Rite Aid store is 11,000 to 15,000 square feet.

In Greenville, Virginia, Rite Aid built a second branch that is roughly 2,400 square feet and is housed in a business strip mall center. It was over 7 miles to the nearest pharmacy.

According to Rite Aid, 10% of Americans live more than 5 miles from the closest pharmacy, 29% of Americans don’t take their prescriptions as directed because of cost, and prescription underuse results in over $500 billion in preventable medical expenses annually.

“We believe that supporting these unmet needs presents tremendous opportunity for us, and the price of entry for us is very low,” the company said in a statement at the time.