Rite Aid To Close These PA Stores After Bankruptcy Filing

PENNSYLVANIA — Rite Aid pharmacy chain's court filings has named which of its underperforming stores would be closed under the terms outlined in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Twenty-two of the stores set to close are in the Keystone State. The stores to be closed include:

• 2442 950 East Baltimore Pike, Yeadon
• 2709 8235 Stenton Avenue, Philadelphia
• 3377 7941 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia
• 3457 136 North 63rd Street, Philadelphia
• 3681 5440 Lansdowne Avenue, Philadelphia
• 4616 208 East Central Avenue, Titusville
• 7827 1080 S West End Blvd, Quakertown
• 10900 700 Stevenson Blvd., New Kensington
• 10901 351 Brighton Avenue, Rochester
• 10906 5235 Library Road, Bethel Park
• 10908 5990 University Blvd Ste 30, Moon Township
• 10943 2501 Saw Mill Run Blvd, Pittsburgh
• 10949 5410 Keeport Drive, Pittsburgh
• 10967 6090 Route 30, Greensburg
• 10974 4830 William Penn Highway, Export
• 10991 1730 Wilmington Road, New Castle
• 11042 2178 W. Union Blvd., Bethlehem
• 11053 1628 South Fourth Street, Allentown
• 11134 2401 East Venango Street, Philadelphia
• 11135 6327-43 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia
• 11160 200 W. Ridge Avenue Ste 112, Conshohocken
• 12999 301 Eisenhower Drive, Hanover
• 7783 7036 Wertzville Road, Mechanicsburg

The company did not say when the stores would close.

Prescriptions of customers of the affected stores will be transferred to a nearby Rite Aid or other drug store “so that there is no disruption of service,” the company said in a statement. People who work at the stores will also be transferred to other Rite Aid locations where possible, the company said.

Rite Aid’s bankruptcy comes amid slumping sales and heavy debt from an opioid lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in March that accuses the company of filling prescriptions for large quantities of opioids “that had obvious, and often multiple, red flags indicating misuse.”

Other drug store chains, including rivals CVS and Walgreens, have settled similar lawsuits, but were better positioned financially. But even they are struggling and closing in a tough environment for national drug store chains as Amazon and big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco and others make it more convenient to have prescriptions filled, CNN reported.

Rite Aid said it had secured $3.45 billion in financing and debt reduction agreements that will help it stay afloat through the court-supervised bankruptcy. The company will sell off its Elixir Solutions, its prescription benefit provider.

Additionally, the agreement settles outstanding lawsuits against the company for allegedly filing unlawful opioid prescriptions, one of the exacerbating factors contributing to Rite Aid’s bankruptcy.

In a notice to the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, Rite Aid said it was “unable, without unreasonable effort or expense,” to file its latest quarterly report as it reviewed “strategic alternatives.”

Losses that quarter are expected to be significantly higher than in the previous quarter, the company said. That’s on top of losses of about three quarters of a billion dollars for the year ended March 2023, and losses of $307 million from March to May, CNN reported.

Rite Aid appointed a new CEO, Jeff Stein, who will lead restructuring efforts and also serve on the company’s board of directors.

“With the support of our lenders, we look forward to strengthening our financial foundation, advancing our transformation initiatives and accelerating the execution of our turnaround strategy,” Stein said in the statement. “In doing so, we will be even better able to deliver the healthcare products and services our customers and their families rely on -— now and into the future.”