Rite Aid May Close Even More Stores In 2023

Rite Aid, which has already been closing 145 unprofitable stores for the last year, may close even more underperforming locations, executives disclosed Wednesday.

The drugstore chain, which Wednesday reported a quarterly loss of more than $67 million, and is now projecting greater losses for its fiscal 2023 than it projected just three months ago, is once again looking at closing more stores.

“I think what I would tell you is there is an opportunity to close more stores,” Rite Aid executive vice president and chief financial officer Matt Schroeder told analysts Wednesday morning on a call to discuss fiscal third quarter earnings.

Rite Aid, which had 2,324 total stores as of the end of the fiscal 2023 third quarter on November 26, isn’t disclosing how many more stores could close but executives said it wouldn’t be as large as the number closed this year.

“It’s not nearly the size of the opportunity that we had this year,” Schroeder said. “So, it’s on a much smaller scale because we have done a pretty good job in the latest last store closure program of really pruning a lot of the unprofitable stores or at least unprofitable even with leases and drain in out of the fleet. So smaller than this year.”

Rite Aid, which has struggled in recent years to compete with larger rivals Walgreens, CVS Health and Walmart pharmacies, in April said it planned to “significantly reduce costs” through a “closure of a total of 145 unprofitable stores.” The number includes the 63 stores the company already announced in December it would close.