Despite a lack of inventory at local stores, Rite Aid has not announced the planned closure of any additional locations in the area.
The Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023 to resolve multiple lawsuits against the chain for over prescribing opioids. But earlier this summer, the company was cleared to exit bankruptcy pending the approval of a restructuring deal by a judge.
The deal would reportedly prevent Rite Aid from going into liquidation by handing control of the company to its creditors. About $2 billion of the company’s debt would be wiped away in the process, while giving them access to $2.5 billion in exit financing to fund a turnaround plan the company has dubbed “Rite Aid 2.0.”
In the last year, Rite Aid has closed a handful of stores in the area, including two locations in Falls Township and a location in Bristol Borough.
The closure of local stores were in addition to the over 150 other Rite Aids nationwide that shuttered as a result of the bankruptcy.
Despite the good news, readers have reported that many items remain missing from Rite Aids around the area.
A visit to the Rite Aid on Ice Cream Alley in Newtown Borough in July showed empty shelves, particularly in the pharmaceutical section.
Another trip to the Rite Aid on Pond Street in Bristol Borough yielded the same results.
When asked if the store would close, an associate at the Pond Street store said “we’re not closing” and added that they were getting additional inventory the next day.
In an email, a representative from Rite Aid confirmed that there were no plans to close any locations in the area.
In addition to the Newtown Township location, Rite Aid also operates stores in nearby Middletown and Northampton Townships.
But Rite Aid isn’t the only pharmacy chain that has been struggling recently.
In June, Walgreens announced that it will be closing “a significant” amount of stores across the U.S over the next three years, although they did not specify which locations would close. And CVS, the nation’s largest drug retailer, has slowly closed hundreds of its stores over the last few years, according to USA Today.
Some economists have attributed the closures to falling reimbursement rates for prescription drugs and the rise of online pharmacies, per a CNN report.
