National drugstore shuts most of its stores bringing total to 800

Rite Aid has now closed 772 stores since October 2023, representing over a third of the roughly 2,000 locations it operated before it fell into bankruptcy. Michigan and Ohio are the worst hit - with an astonishing three in four Rite Aids in the two states now shut.

In the past month alone, the troubled drugstore has closed 189 shops across the neighboring Midwest swing states . Locals fear the chain is readying itself to totally leave the area. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, Rite Aid announced it would initially shutter 154 underperforming stores across a dozen states. In the nine months since then, it has shut an additional 618.

One analyst told ABC27 in September the worst case scenario was that 700 stores would close, which Rite Aid has far surpassed. The chain has been facing a series of challenges. Drugstores, generally, are struggling to compete with big-box chains and with Amazon, which launched its own online-only pharmacy in 2020.

The most recent closures came last week, with Rite Aid disclosing it will phase out 10 stores in Ohio and 20 stores in Michigan , according to court documents. In fact, stores in Ohio and Michigan make up 43 percent of the total closures so far, despite those states not even being the biggest markets for Rite Aid. This had led some to be concerned that these two states will have some of the largest pharmacy deserts in the country.

A Rite Aid pharmacist told an Ohio business journal last month that the recent spate of closures will 'without a doubt' cause massive problems for vulnerable populations who need a pharmacy near them. 'Some of the Rite Aid locations are in areas where there are not a lot of competitors or other options,' he told Crain's Cleveland Business . A major factor in Rite Aid's ongoing bankruptcy is the fact that it had been unable to settle hundreds of costly lawsuits accusing the company of overprescribing opioids .

But when Judge Michael Kaplan approved the company's reorganization plan late last month, 16 out of the 17 states' lawsuits over its alleged negligence in prescribing opioids were settled. The 22,000 individuals who filed opioid claims against Rite Aid will be entitled to $250 to $500 payouts, Reuters reported. The restructuring will also cut debt by $2 billion, mainly financed by a group of Rite Aid's lenders.

It's unclear when Rite Aid will emerge from bankruptcy, but it plans to return with about 1,300 stores total, a far cry from when it operated 5,059 locations in 2008 . Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, told DailyMail.com that no one should expect Rite Aid to charge back to where it once was in 2008 - the third largest drugstore chain in the country. 'Rite Aid is hoping to get itself back onto a firm financial footing, although it will emerge from bankruptcy as a much smaller business with far fewer stores,' Saunders said. DailyMail.com approached Rite Aid for comment but didn't receive an immediate response.

Walgreens, the second largest pharmacy in the US behind CVS, is grappling with its own financial troubles, announcing last month it would close a 'significant' number of its 8,700 US stores . The widespread 'retail apocalypse' that has seen brick-and-mortar stores struggle to combat rampant theft and increasingly tight margins is certainly not contained to drugstores. By the end of April, US retailers had announced the closure of almost 2,600 stores in 2024 . Walmart, the largest retailer in the US, has shut 11 so far this year .

Earlier in April, dollar store 99 Cents Only said it will shutter ALL its 371 shops , while Best Buy closed ten in March. Dollar Tree is closing 1,000, Macy's 150 - a third of its total - and drug store Rite Aid 77 . In recent months, there has been a spate of bankruptcies adding to store closures, including home and furniture retailer Conn's.

National coffee and upmarket grocery chain Foxtrot also said at the start of April it will shut all its stores with immediate effect - leaving staff and customers stunned. Express - a mall staple - filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would shut 95 Express outlets alongside all of its UpWest stores. At the start of May, Rue21 - the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America - also said it will shut all its 543 US stores.

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