Rite Aid Closes 50 Additional Stores in Michigan and Ohio

Rite Aid has announced the closure of another 50 stores across Michigan and Ohio in its ongoing efforts to restructure its faltering business.

According to Supermarket News, 33 locations in Michigan and 17 in Ohio are slated for closure following the pharmacy chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The store filed paperwork earlier this month that included a list of over 60 additional sites in those two states that were scheduled to close.

Additionally, Rite Aid announced last month that it intended to close its Waterford distribution center in the state, which would result in the layoff of 191 employees, in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.

Per USA Today, Rite Aid has already shut down over 500 locations across the nation since last October. This began with 154 stores initially, but since then, the company has closed hundreds of other locations in smaller chunks. Before the filing, the Philadelphia-based business had 2,111 locations, and its website now states that 1,591 of its stores are still open.

At the top of the month, a U.S. bankruptcy judge granted the well-known pharmacy business clearance for its bankruptcy restructuring plan in a historic ruling. With this action, Rite Aid can cut its debt by an astounding $2 billion and hand over management to a group of lenders, which is a critical step in the company’s financial recovery.

Judge Michael Kaplan gave his consent in a Trenton, New Jersey, court proceeding. Rite Aid was in danger of going out of business if the reorganization had not been approved. The business, which experienced extreme financial hardship and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023, recorded losses of $750 million compared to $24 billion in revenue for the prior fiscal year.

Rite Aid sold its pharmacy benefit company, Elixir, and closed hundreds of shops in order to streamline operations during the bankruptcy proceedings. Settlements with major creditors like McKesson and other lenders were also a part of the reorganization, and they were essential to restoring the company’s financial stability.