Leo Gillick
It’s game over for former drug chain giant Rite Aid as it finally announces it’s closing all of its stores after its second bankruptcy in two years.
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Once upon a time, Rite Aid was the largest pharmaceutical drug store in the US with more than 2,000 stores. Now, after a second bankruptcy in as many years, they are closing their last locations and shutting up shop for good.
Slow Decline: After its first bankruptcy, Rite Aid was forced to file for a second only a few months later. The Chapter 11 was a last-ditch effort to find buyers and recover what they could from the failing drug store. However, despite some interest, the once successful drug chain simply couldn’t garner investment.
- In 2017 and 2018, Rite Aid was offered the chance to merge with Walgreens and Albertsons, respectively. However, they chose to turn the deals down. With hindsight, that was probably not the best financial choice. Now, the drug chain has been forced to close all of its locations permanently.
Aftercare
Thousands of people around the US will have been reliant on the Rite Aid drug chain locations for their prescriptions and vaccinations. The closure of brick-and-mortar outlets will pose a problem for a lot of people. As a result, many will now have to find new outlets and locations for their drug store needs.
- Along with a brief message, Rite Aid offers previous customers help getting their medical records and finding somewhere else to shop. “All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support,” it states on their now closed site.
The closing of all Rite Aid drug chain locations comes as more people move to alternative methods of shopping. It’s now easier than ever to have pharmaceuticals delivered online, using companies such as Amazon. This has slowly drawn shoppers away from high street locations.
When even the pharmacies are struggling in the US, it’s a sure sign of the times. Even the drug stores are struggling.
