The company’s store count has fallen drastically from 4,667 outlets in 2012 to 1,240.
Drugstore chain Rite Aid Corporation has again filed for bankruptcy less than a year after exiting from the previous one, with the chain now looking to sell “substantially all of its assets,” the company said in a May 5 statement.
Rite Aid and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. To support Rite Aid during the sales process, the company “has secured commitments from certain of its existing lenders to access $1.94 billion in new financing,” the statement said.
“This financing, along with cash from operations, is expected to provide sufficient funding during the sale and court-supervised process.”
Assets that are not sold during the court-supervised bankruptcy process would be divested or monetized.
During bankruptcy, customers will still be able to access pharmacy services and products at the company’s physical stores and online.
The drugstore chain “is working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies. Rite Aid employees assisting with this process will continue to receive pay and benefits,” the company said.
Rite Aid previously filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 as it struggled with slowing sales and high debt, amid several lawsuits blaming the company for America’s opioid crisis.
In September 2024, Rite Aid announced that it had completed the bankruptcy restructuring process and would operate as a private company. The company said it eliminated roughly $2 billion from its total debt and received around $2.5 billion in funding.
However, things have not gone smoothly for the company, as evidenced by the decision to file for bankruptcy again.
Matt Schroeder, Rite Aid CEO, said the company has “continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate.”
Rite Aid’s store count across the United States has fallen drastically over the past decade. In 2012, the company had 4,667 stores, which fell to 2,309 in 2023, according to data from Statista. Rite Aid’s website lists its current store count at 1,240.
