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A major retail pharmacy chain will be shuttering all of its stores in the months ahead.
Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid, which first filed for bankruptcy in October of 2023, filed for bankruptcy protection again on Monday.
According to a letter to employees from company CEO Matthew Schroeder, reported by Bloomberg, the company was unsuccessful in coaxing additional funding from lenders to continue operating the business. The letter also warned of job cuts at its corporate office in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
On Monday, Rite Aid sought court protection in New Jersey, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion on its Chapter 11 petition.
“The dramatic downturn in the economy, potential litigation, and increased costs (including tariffs) from our suppliers and landlords have necessitated employee separations that were unforeseen, as we were actively seeking funding and pursuing several alternative strategic transactions with the hope that this action could be avoided or postponed,” Schroeder said in a statement. He noted that all stores would be closed or sold off.
The Rite Aid careers page was still active Tuesday morning, listing 267 stores in 10 states, down from the 1,700 stores in 16 states they had listed.
RiteAid started in Scranton, Pennsylvania as a one-pharmacy storefront known as the Thrif D Discount Center in 1962. In 1968, it changed its name to Rite-Aid and by 1981 had grown into the third largest retail pharmacy chain the USA behind, CVS (CVS+1.43%) and Walgreens (WBA+0.23%).
Rite Aid also operates the Eckerd Corporation and Genovese Drug Store chains, which will also be impacted by the bankruptcy.
The retail pharmacy business has struggled over the past year with Rite-Aid rivals CVS and Walgreens closing thousands of stores.