Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

[submariner]

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3 5525 4525 E. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY LONG BEACH CA 90804
...

That is the newest and nicest Rite Aid in Long Beach, in a fabulous location from a traffic perspective. It was the consolidation of two other stores nearby. I'm absolutely shocked it is closing as it was a ground up Wellness 2.0 build and always busy.

Similar to Anaheim (Opened around April 2018, and was set up to close before this announcement), where they tore down an old strip mall and built a brand new store on the corner of Magnolia & LaPalma (but they kept the fantastic vintage street front sign). The store was also a Wellness 2.0 from the ground up, and replaced an old Thrifty store on LaPalma & Dale that paired with a Lucky/Albertsons (the two stores were later remodelled into a short-lived OSH).

[ClownLoach]

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3 5525 4525 E. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY LONG BEACH CA 90804
...

That is the newest and nicest Rite Aid in Long Beach, in a fabulous location from a traffic perspective. It was the consolidation of two other stores nearby. I'm absolutely shocked it is closing as it was a ground up Wellness 2.0 build and always busy.

Similar to Anaheim (Opened around April 2018, and was set up to close before this announcement), where they tore down an old strip mall and built a brand new store on the corner of Magnolia & LaPalma (but they kept the fantastic vintage street front sign). The store was also a Wellness 2.0 from the ground up, and replaced an old Thrifty store on LaPalma & Dale that paired with a Lucky/Albertsons (the two stores were later remodelled into a short-lived OSH).

Screenshot 2023-10-26 at 8.55.45 am.png

I didn't realize that Anaheim/Buena Park area store was the one that closed but that is also a tough loss. Hopefully the restored retro sign is kept.

[Romr123]

Here's one that's staying open that has quite interesting signage...the marquee was from the old theatre--the RA is kind of wrapped around the auditorium.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5031651 ... ?entry=ttu

[norcalriteaidclerk]

Not the tone I would have preferred to set with my 500th post,but...

► Show Spoiler

When 7900 Arcadia was told of their closure on 5/8/2018,it came as a shock out of the blue.It was well kept for an RA-1 though never remodeled into either version of the wellness package.

During my first 18-20 months at 5409 Sunrise(and even during my first actual shift there in spring 2017 when I was loaned to that store),the store was still well merchandised and well run.However in early 2020(as COVID-19 began running riot on human civilization),the wheels began coming off:aside from growing maintenance issues(the least of which being a leaky roof that even now has been especially problematic during the wet months)along with the departure of several Sunrise Village co-tenants in anticipation of center renovations that were delayed by a year,the Heyward Donigan regime decided discontinue a large amount of non-core(outside of food,drug,and HBA)general merchandise which disapportionately affected the West Coast stores which in average are about 3000-5000 square feet larger than their East Coast counterparts.Later in 2020,the store manager at the time(later ended up in South Lake Tahoe before leaving the company entirely,I must note that no store manager has remained at that store longer than a year as long as I've been there)decided to block off about a quarter of the sales floor in the back corner for storage/overstock.By then sales were beginning to suffer as windfall from the 7900 Arcadia closure wore off.

By summer 2021,the staffing situation really began to deteriorate to the point that the store began struggling at time to keep posted operating hours.That August yet another new store manager came along and that's when my store operationally went to hell in a handbasket.Beginning around the time that mass closures were first announced(December 2021,only 63 were initially announced but by the following November roughly 180 locations had been lost),colleagues that I considered 'adults in the room' started leaving.At one point during February 2022,we were closing at 8 daily.In April of that year,a Cameron Park displacee transferred to our store to my store(solving a supervisor shortage),but nearly all the new employees that the then-manager hired were all misfires that only lasted a month or two.That store manager was ultimately forced out by regional management in August 2022 after evidence of internal shrink was discovered(by that time the last few 'adults in the room' had left for greener pastures),and nomininally the one supervisor from Cameron Park was running the store with assistance of borrowed managers from other stores.Shortly afterwards the 900 Sunrise closure was announced,and upon that store's closure most of the front-end staffers transferred to my store(including a new store manager);but things obviously still took time to fully resolve themselves(especially after the one holdover supervisor departed for greener pastures shortly afterwards).

Then almost as soon as 2023 began,there was the abrupt departure of Heyward Donigan(who has vanished from the public eye I must note)which resulted in BOD member Elizabeth 'Busy' Burr serving as caretaker CEO for over 9 months.However,things obviously continued to spiral with both store and company.During the first seven months of 2023,only about 45-50 locations(including a few Bartell locations)closed chainwide but one of them was the other Citrus Heights location at 6661 Auburn which was obviously troubling and unsettling considering that it was the stronger performer of the two in town.In June,the store manager we received from 900 Sunrise was unceremoniously forced out all because of false profiling accusations by a caught repeat shoplifter;and in consequence shortened store hours were in effect for much of July and August(by that time the Thrifty counter would no longer be operable due to aging/malfuctioning freezers).A new manager came aboard just before Labor Day,but by then the damage was done:after a quiet July on that front,closures started to ramp up again by mid-August and really started to pick up steam when the infamous WSJ leak occurred on 'Black Friday'(August 25th).Almost as soon as our new manager settled in,our truckload shipments(only from the Woodland distribution center;not direct vendor shipments that cover dairy,frozen,and beverages like beer and soda)began to get paltrier:by mid-September(by that time Sacramento/1730 Watt abruptly closed after 54 years in business)we would start getting truckloads that would average only two pallets a piece,the ultimate final truckload we received two weeks ago was a mere single pallet.Of course it would be on Friday The 13th weekend when the imminent endgame for 5409 Sunrise would come into focus.Not only do we get informed of an emergency staff meeting the following week,but the Chapter 11 filing that had been in the works for months became official on evening of Sunday the 15th.Sure enough two days later(even though it was leaked a day earlier by official restructuring documents made public)came the official word that the 48-year-long run at 5409 Sunrise would come to an end on 11/1/2023.Second store closure that I've been involved with in the past 66 months;and given that many front end colleagues came aboard from 900 Sunrise or(in the case of one fellow cashier that has only been at our store for maybe a month)lower Watt,it's also deja vu for them as well.

I do have a transfer store lined up:4300 Elverta in Antelope.This was the first purpose-built RAD in greater Sacramento,a blue-awning RA-1 since remodeled into Wellness 2.0 decor,can't yet speak whether the blue awnings are still intact or removed when the new logo signs went up en masse.This replaced a former Payless Drug(7905 Walerga,now a 24 Hour Fitness)across the street that opened around 1990-91(the Bel Air in that same center somehow still has a pharmacy).I'm aware that has been a reasonably productive store that should fall in the 'go forward' category though whether it truly survives may depend on lease renegotiations and/or whether the company can successfully emerge from chapter 11 especially as additional green-lit closures come to light.

I would have loved to land at my neighborhood location on Manzanita(or failing that Rancho Cordova Golden Centre or the Marconi location),but there weren't any openings at my three nearest three go-forward locations given that two Arden-Arcade locations(lower Watt,Fulton)closed in the preceding month or two before.

The silent takeaway in all this that in just matter of days,a continuous bond that has existed for over 45 years of my life(living and/or working in Citrus Heights)will be severed/interrupted for the first time since was still in diapers(family briefly lived in Rancho Cordova though I was way to young to remember).

RIP Thrifty Drug Store 543/Payless Drug Store 6543/Rite Aid Pharmacy store 6045
9/4/1975-11/1/2023

[storewanderer]

Similar to Anaheim (Opened around April 2018, and was set up to close before this announcement), where they tore down an old strip mall and built a brand new store on the corner of Magnolia & LaPalma (but they kept the fantastic vintage street front sign). The store was also a Wellness 2.0 from the ground up, and replaced an old Thrifty store on LaPalma & Dale that paired with a Lucky/Albertsons (the two stores were later remodelled into a short-lived OSH).

Cannot believe that new Anaheim Store closed too.

Way too many newer stores are being closed...

[storewanderer]

Not the tone I would have preferred to set with my 500th post,but...

I do wonder how many of these stores have been killed by operational issues that have driven customers away. The stores with pharmacy that was 9-5 M-F in 2021 and into 2022 in some cases (still one of these in Susanville... that has an above average and fully staffed front end though with a long term manager) I am shocked they've been able to stay open. Gardnerville Store which has never been very busy even as Payless has noticeably less traffic since 2020 when the operating hours cuts started and products were cut; South Lake Tahoe has been a total mismanaged loss and despite recent recovery efforts that could be successful by a very hard working store manager who was a previous district manager relocated into the store very recently and isn't afraid to ask for additional resources, the vaccine locator there after 11/15 calls for concern; Truckee has far less traffic but seems to be recovering; Kings Beach seems the same as before, it reduced hours of operation but the store never seemed to suffer and it is so small the merchandise cuts haven't impacted it.

It is my suspicion there are many locations that were surviving but thanks to missteps in 2021-2022 a loss in traffic of 10-15% due to shorter/unpredictable hours etc. has been enough to kick many stores into negative earnings.

I am concerned they do not seem to be trying to do anything to grow traffic either at the present time. The stores are too understocked to do anything major to draw more traffic in. Tough spot. They are going to have to do some things to grow traffic and sales as they look toward emerging from bankruptcy.

[norcalriteaidclerk]

Additional closures per Pacer filing done 10/24, Docket Number 236

Interesting thing about these is they still have vaccine appointments ongoing you can schedule in December etc. no cut off for the vaccine scheduling... (not sure the 6934 store since that is a Bartell, not sure where to search for their vaccine appointments).

No. Store No. Property Address City State Zip Code
1 5232 303 91ST AVENUE, NE STE D401 LAKE STEVENS WA 98258
2 2604 6101 NORTH BROAD STREET PHILADELPHIA PA 19141
3 5525 4525 E. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY LONG BEACH CA 90804
4 6934 12946 SE KENT KANGLEY RD KENT WA 98030
5 11008 353 EAST 6TH STREET ERIE PA 16507

It doesn't look like this will be the last addendum to the closures list if the vaccine scheduler is any indication:

In addition to SLT coming to a halt on the 15th,there are no vaccine appointments available at San Ramon after veteran's day; while in the City of Angels,the Lincoln Heights legacy Thrifty that has been in business since the 1940's(111 East Avenue 26)has blacked out all vaccine appointments after the 13th.No blackout date listed for Long Beach Traffic circle which was also reported on Twitter.

While 5409 Sunrise is behind most other stores on the list of 154 closures,we won't quite be the last California list to finish up: Oxnard(another vintage early 1960's Thrifty bites the dust)ends vaccine appointments on the 1st(the day after my store does)while three others finish up the following week(La puente which opened as Thrifty around the same time 5712 Folsom did has its last vaccine appointments on the 6th, Santa Cruz on the 7th,and Yorba Linda which actually was a former Payless on the 8th).It does seem that closing stores end vaccine appointments the day preceding the last day of business though the 1960-vintage Santa Clara Thrifty has long had no appointments available (won't know when it closes until it drops off the store locator).I must also note that Santa Cruz underwent a low budget Wellness 2.0 'repaint' while retaining its original Thrifty footprint(aisle/checkout layout, terrazzo floor, small pharmacy,and front corner open-air office).I suspect it had never been remodeled out of the 'rediscover Thrifty' decor up until that point.

Also, rumors have started swirling about the Bishop CA location(vaccine appointments stop on the same date as San Ramon).

https://www.easternsierranow.com/report ... d-closing/

[Alpha8472]

Rite Aid despite some stores possibly closing is still trying to get people to get flu shots. They have signs offering a free scoop of Thrifty Ice Cream with every flu shot at my local store. The dvds are 50% off now. I still think that they are overpriced and old. The beer coolers seem to be almost empty now. Maybe Rite Aid is not getting beer replenished. The wine aisles still seem full.

Some of the Halloween decorations at Rite Aid seem unique to Rite Aid. They have a selection that you cannot find at other stores. There are quite a few animatronic Halloween items.

[norcalriteaidclerk]

The vaccine scheduler at Long Beach Traffic circle stops on the 18th.

Additionally,the city of Anaheim,which had three locations as recently as three months ago, will soon have zero.The vaccine scheduler for the Anaheim Hills location(5560 Santa Ana Canyon)ends on the 15th(same date as SLT);and it's far from the only sizable socal city to have suffered this fate this year: San Bernardino lost both of its locations within a few weeks of one another just last month,and the cities of Corona(four locations as recently as two decades ago)and Escondido(had two locations as recently as five years ago,a third was gone within five years of RAD integrating the acquired Thrifty Payless locations)also have zero remaining despite once having multiple locations.It happened to Buena Park, Concord, Hayward l,and Rialto last year;and it's just days away from happening to Citrus Heights,Oxnard,and Santa Clara.

[mburb1981]

Additionally,the city of Anaheim,which had three locations as recently as three months ago, will soon have zero.The vaccine scheduler for the Anaheim Hills location(5560 Santa Ana Canyon)ends on the 15th(same date as SLT);and it's far from the only sizable socal city to have suffered this fate this year: San Bernardino lost both of its locations within a few weeks of one another just last month,and the cities of Corona(four locations as recently as two decades ago)and Escondido(had two locations as recently as five years ago,a third was gone within five years of RAD integrating the acquired Thrifty Payless locations)also have zero remaining despite once having multiple locations.It happened to Buena Park, Concord, Hayward l,and Rialto last year;and it's just days away from happening to Citrus Heights,Oxnard,and Santa Clara.

This phenomenon is also being shown in sizable southeast Michigan cities and townships. Taylor, which had four locations as recently as two decades ago and two as recently as five years ago, will soon have zero. Clinton Township, which had three locations as recently as five years ago, will soon have zero. Shelby Township, which had three locations as recently as two decades ago, will soon have zero.