PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Rite Aid has already closed several stores here in our area. We'll see if the pace picks up now that the chain is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
In a move that's been expected for weeks, Rite Aid declared Chapter 11 in a New Jersey court late yesterday.
The company is billions in debt. This year's losses will be at least 650 million dollars, according to a Rite Aid spokesman. The chain faces lawsuits after allegedly illegally prescribing opioids. You can grab a share of Rite Aid stock for only 65 cents.
Chapter 11 is a re-organization, and not a going out of business sale.
Here is what happens next. The company has new leadership and three and a half billion dollars in new financing. Underperforming stores will close. Rite Aid did not give a number, location, or timeline. The Wall Street Journal puts the number of stores closing at around five hundred.
Rite Aid started in downtown Scranton in 1962. There is still a store on North Washington Avenue.
Right now, Rite Aid has 2,100 stores in 17 states. We will see how that changes now that Rite Aid is bankrupt.