Rite Aid to abruptly close two more locations leaving customers fearing the worst as bankruptcy rumors swirl
RITE Aid has announced it will close two more locations as the company is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy.
Two stores in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire will reportedly close later this month.
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The Woodsville, New Hampshire location is scheduled to close on September 10 and customers’ recipes will be automatically moved to the Littleton location.
It’s one of 57 locations in the state, and there’s no information on whether any of the other locations are facing closure.
Another location in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania is scheduled to close on September 16.
The closure of the two locations comes as the company has closed locations across the country.
Rite Aid has already closed 25 different locations this year, including two more recently, one in New York and one in Idaho.
More than 150 stores have closed since early 2022, according to Levittownnow.com.
Customers have taken to social media to express their concerns about the numerous closures.
“My favorite thing about Rite Aid is the closure. I think I’m going to have a panic attack,” said one customer Posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Some have even expressed that the closures are affecting their health.
“Terrible. [The] The local Rite Aid pharmacist called me and said the company would be closing their shop next week. “My doctor just sent several scripts over there and the meds are due Tuesday.” wrote a customer.
“This is a bank holiday weekend, my doctor is unavailable. I get very sick.”
Another buyer called for regulatory oversight of the pharmacy’s closure policy.
“I’m asking New Jersey regulators to take action against Rite Aid. They have done nothing to notify patients of closures and now many of us are desperate to find pharmacies with our medicines,” said another customer claims.
The store closures come after rumors that the company is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The filing would allow them to retain decision-making power and operations as usual to undertake a reorganization.
On Aug. 25, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was preparing to file a filing, a source at Yahoo Finance confirmed.
The company’s shares fell 50 percent after losing 90 percent of their value last year, according to the Wall Street Journal report.
Rite Aid faces thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company oversupplied prescription opiate pain relievers and missed “red flags.”
The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Should Rite Aid decide to file for bankruptcy, the courts could be forced to institute federal lawsuits alleging that the company violated the rules of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act.
In essence, this bankruptcy filing, if filed, could impact the thousands of victims linked to the lawsuits for $8 billion in losses they may be entitled to.
Three major opioid makers — Purdue, Mallinckrodt and Endo — all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the companies reached individual settlement agreements in thousands of lawsuits.