US Pharmacy Chain Rite Aid Closes Its Final Outlets
The prominent US drugstore chain Rite Aid has announced the closure of all its remaining stores.
This past Saturday, the firm's online portal was replaced with a notice confirming: "Every Rite Aid locations have now closed. We appreciate our dedicated patrons for their many years of support." The site also provided a option for customers to obtain their prescription files.
Established in 1962, the company was once a leading drugstore chains in the United States. In its heyday, Rite Aid operated approximately 5,000 outlets.
But in the past few years, the company faced financial struggles and a Justice Department probe. By Friday fewer than 100 stores remained.
Rite Aid had filed for bankruptcy in late 2023 and again in mid-2025.
The firm also faced legal troubles over its involvement in the prescription painkiller crisis. In 2022, Rite Aid paid up to $30 million to settle legal claims alleging it contributed to the flow of painkillers in the US.
A year later, in its 2023 bankruptcy submission, the firm stated that reorganization would help it "settle litigation claims."
Rite Aid also encountered a federal complaint in which officials alleged the firm's stores filled unlawful prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl. The firm agreed to settle in July 2024.
Additional US drugstore retailers have also been closing outlets throughout the country, though different reasons have been cited.
Since 2021, CVS has closed more than 1,000 locations as part of a longer term initiative.
In a similar vein, Walgreens, which was recently purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, shut down 500 locations over the past year.
Industry observers have expressed worries about growing "pharmacy dead zones" in the United States, where a large number of people reside without a drugstore close by and must travel to get prescriptions filled.
