Rite Aid customers should anticipate changes as the drugstore chain undergoes another bankruptcy filing. The company plans to sell customer prescription files, inventory, and other assets while closing distribution centers and unloading store locations. Although stores will remain open temporarily, the lack of new inventory purchases means bare shelves may become more common.
Retail analyst Neil Saunders predicts that stores will progressively become more spartan. Rite Aid operates 1,245 stores across 15 states, with significant presence in New York, Pennsylvania, and California.
Most stores are expected to remain open for a few months before closing or being sold to a new owner. During this time, customers can still fill prescriptions, get immunizations, and shop in-store or online. However, Rite Aid will cease issuing customer rewards points, no longer honor gift cards, and not accept returns or exchanges starting next month.
Prescription records will likely be sold to another drugstore, grocer, or retailer with a pharmacy. While Rite Aid aims for a smooth transfer, there’s no guarantee these files will end up at a nearby location, especially in rural areas.
Rite Aid’s financial struggles stem from tighter prescription profits, increased theft, court settlements over opioid prescriptions, and shifting customer preferences towards online shopping and discount retailers.
— new from AP News