Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

Only today has mainstream Sacramento media has finally reported on the local closures.The local newspaper is headquartered blocks away from 1125 Alhambra,and the interesting thing about the local ABC affiliate web story is that the picture caption is of an unidentified out of market location.Hopefully,when the spokesperson told them 'no further Sacramento closures are anticipated,'the company truly means it.

Additionally,the lone remaining downtown Los Angeles location(500 South Broadway)has apparently closed(today was their last day),and a comment in this thread suggests that at least one unidentified Bay Area location is closing this week(for sure at least one in an east bay locale).

I must note that RAD stock has hit a 52-week low on consecutive days this week(today's close was a shade below $6 or 30 cents prior to the reverse split).Hopefully the probability of it slipping below $4(all time low was 20 cents around 2009)remains lower that any MLB team losing 123 games or more this season.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

norcalriteaidclerk wrote: May 10th, 2022, 11:28 pm

Additionally,the lone remaining downtown Los Angeles location(500 South Broadway)has apparently closed(today was their last day),and a comment in this thread suggests that at least one unidentified Bay Area location is closing this week(for sure at least one in an east bay locale).
That bay area poster is saying the next closest store is 30 miles away. I wonder what location is that isolated.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

storewanderer wrote: May 10th, 2022, 11:43 pm
norcalriteaidclerk wrote: May 10th, 2022, 11:28 pm

Additionally,the lone remaining downtown Los Angeles location(500 South Broadway)has apparently closed(today was their last day),and a comment in this thread suggests that at least one unidentified Bay Area location is closing this week(for sure at least one in an east bay locale).
That bay area poster is saying the next closest store is 30 miles away. I wonder what location is that isolated.
Actually not 30 miles,but 30 minutes(which might be slightly closer from a distance standpoint).I've mined reviews for the single location East Bay locales and so have found nothing suggesting that any of them would soon lose their lone RAD location(Concord has been gone for roughly a month).Maybe when additional closures are marked in their official locator with a few days we'll have a better idea...
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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norcalriteaidclerk wrote: May 10th, 2022, 11:51 pm

Actually not 30 miles,but 30 minutes(which might be slightly closer from a distance standpoint).I've mined reviews for the single location East Bay locales and so have found nothing suggesting that any of them would soon lose their lone RAD location(Concord has been gone for roughly a month).Maybe when additional closures are marked in their official locator with a few days we'll have a better idea...
They do something to disable the online pick up in store from the closing stores. It will show inventory available but won't let you add to pick up at a closing store.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

storewanderer wrote:
norcalriteaidclerk wrote: May 10th, 2022, 11:51 pm

Actually not 30 miles,but 30 minutes(which might be slightly closer from a distance standpoint).I've mined reviews for the single location East Bay locales and so have found nothing suggesting that any of them would soon lose their lone RAD location(Concord has been gone for roughly a month).Maybe when additional closures are marked in their official locator with a few days we'll have a better idea...
They do something to disable the online pick up in store from the closing stores. It will show inventory available but won't let you add to pick up at a closing store.
The store locator though doesn't seem to indicate whether a location offers online pickup(my store still offers it and received it's weekly truckload a couple days ago),so there's no way to tell via the locator feature unless I'm doing it wrong.

Also, San Diego has just suffered its first losses:the Rancho penasquitos Payless at the Black mountain/highway 56 Vons center(how did they allow a freestanding CVS to be built in the parking lot is beyond me)and the Claremont Mesa location at 5270 Balboa avenue (not even being open until midnight could save it).

The mystery behind the secret East Bay closure may be solved via a 'there goes my childhood' tweet by an local resident:I had long been concerned about the lone remaining Hayward location (31091 Mission in the fairway Park center shared with Dollar tree and grocery outlet)since it was an unremodeled legacy thrifty whose only RAD-era capex was having it's outside thrifty signs replaced.This closure marks their outright withdrawal from this East Bay suburb that as recently as two decades ago had three locations (a later legacy Payless on Santa Clara Street near the 92/880 junction closed circa 2004 with an early 1960's legacy thrifty in the southland mall following suit in 2016;the nearest remaining locations being in Castro valley(unremodeled legacy Payless),San Leandro,Pleasanton,and two Union City locations.

The awful thing about the loss of New Haven/Legion is that it was a new build Wellness store that wasn't even open 8 years.Rio Linda (safe and sound) isn't the only such store in California: relocation stores in susanville and south Riverside (Van Buren/Washington)also opened as Wellness stores neither realistically being in danger of closure.

Don't know how many Pennsylvania stores have closed within the past six months,but either they have been less publicized or the happening at a lower rate than in California or NYC.

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/46473 ... e-location

I'm not being an outright apologist for my company's CEO,but heyward donigan had grand plans to remake and differentiate RAD at this time 30 months ago.What she and the BOD didn't count on was a pandemic upending just about everything.I'm still confident that the ship be 'rited' without the possibility of bankruptcy even as the company stock hits a 52-week low for the fourth straight trading day.

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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I thought that store in Hayward closed a while ago. I see it did just close. They still had some Thrifty logo slides on the aisle hangers last time I was there.

I don't think a complete withdrawal from Hayward makes much sense. The 2004 closure was so long ago it is tough to tell what happened there and the 2016 mall closure was probably more about the mall than the store so this closure completely leaving town is troubling.

There was a spot in Utah where a Walgreens was built right in the parking lot of a Rite Aid too (back before the store sales). 2696 Fort Union Blvd. in Cottonwood Heights, UT. I see the grocery store there went out of business too. Reams, probably was a former Safeway. Business probably had to fall to literally 0 for Reams to close a store. I hope the landlord likes having the main center grocery and drug anchors empty but a new Walgreens out in the parking lot.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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I wonder how much will be wasted in legal fees to defend their right to use the font in the new logo.
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligenc ... -makeover/

Not a great use of funds....

New logo was a mistake for a company that didn't have money to spend on it. And now this? And that Humana issue? This type of misuse of funds did not happen when Bob Miller was around and finances were very tight. This new management seemed oblivious to the fragile finances of Rite Aid throwing money away on a useless new logo like this.

I can only imagine the cost if they have to replace all of the signs. I am sure the company suing over this has computed the cost, which is easily in the millions, and will ask for just a little less than that to "license" the font. Talk about being held over the barrel. I'd suggest they get all of their payments up front though...
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: May 12th, 2022, 9:55 pm I wonder how much will be wasted in legal fees to defend their right to use the font in the new logo.
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligenc ... -makeover/

Not a great use of funds....

New logo was a mistake for a company that didn't have money to spend on it. And now this? And that Humana issue? This type of misuse of funds did not happen when Bob Miller was around and finances were very tight. This new management seemed oblivious to the fragile finances of Rite Aid throwing money away on a useless new logo like this.

I can only imagine the cost if they have to replace all of the signs. I am sure the company suing over this has computed the cost, which is easily in the millions, and will ask for just a little less than that to "license" the font. Talk about being held over the barrel. I'd suggest they get all of their payments up front though...
I refuse to believe this many leases are up. I refuse to believe they're writing checks to sever leases where continuous operation is required. And I am sure there are more problems with other insurers owed money because I can't imagine a situation where the pharmacists would know to only bilk Humana. I just think that they're going to close everything they want closed, fail to write the lease termination checks, and go right to a Chapter 11 hoping that they can just cancel the leases, get a prepackaged finance plan to restructure the debt, and most importantly avoid any interest in the estate from liquidation firms who could bid to put down the rest of the chain. The empty aisles and poor in stocks are probably married to empty warehouses - so when the Gordon Brothers, Hilco and others go look at stores they're going to not be interested in bidding because they don't see any merchandise to sell. Then how much are you willing to bet they've got a hand picked private equity buyer waiting for them on the other side of Chapter 11?

It doesn't take a genius to figure out they're setting up for a filing simply because they are closing too many stores coupled with money problems. Their competitors like CVS and Walgreens can close hundreds of stores for figurative pennies because they are so profitable. But Rite Aid is too deep in debt to work this out without a court restructuring. I've seen better companies with lesser financial problems close out a major round of closures with a Chapter 11... I think it's inevitable.
Last edited by ClownLoach on May 13th, 2022, 5:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

ClownLoach wrote: May 12th, 2022, 11:15 pm
storewanderer wrote: May 12th, 2022, 9:55 pm I wonder how much will be wasted in legal fees to defend their right to use the font in the new logo.
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligenc ... -makeover/

Not a great use of funds....

New logo was a mistake for a company that didn't have money to spend on it. And now this? And that Humana issue? This type of misuse of funds did not happen when Bob Miller was around and finances were very tight. This new management seemed oblivious to the fragile finances of Rite Aid throwing money away on a useless new logo like this.

I can only imagine the cost if they have to replace all of the signs. I am sure the company suing over this has computed the cost, which is easily in the millions, and will ask for just a little less than that to "license" the font. Talk about being held over the barrel. I'd suggest they get all of their payments up front though...
I refuse to believe this many leases are up. I refuse to believe they're writing checks to sever leases. And I am sure there are more problems with other insurers owed money because I can't imagine a situation where the pharmacists would know to only bilk Humana. I just think that they're going to close everything they want closed, fail to write the lease termination checks, and go right to a Chapter 11 hoping that they can just cancel the leases, get a prepackaged finance plan to restructure the debt, and most importantly avoid any interest in the estate from liquidation firms who could bid to put down the rest of the chain. The empty aisles and poor in stocks are probably married to empty warehouses - so when the Gordon Brothers, Hilco and others go look at stores they're going to not be interested in bidding because they don't see any merchandise to sell. Then how much are you willing to bet they've got a hand picked private equity buyer waiting for them on the other side of Chapter 11?

It doesn't take a genius to figure out they're setting up for a filing simply because they are closing too many stores coupled with money problems. Their competitors like CVS and Walgreens can close hundreds of stores for figurative pennies because they are so profitable. But Rite Aid is too deep in debt to work this out without a court restructuring. I've seen better companies with lesser financial problems close out a major round of closures with a Chapter 11... I think it's inevitable.
I am not sure exactly how much product they are ordering from Supervalu/UNFI at this point to alleviate supply challenges. We see that Essential Everyday food showing up to replace the old Rite Aid Big Win private label in a number of grocery categories (but not the whole category) and they've had Wild Harvest for a while now as an intended program (though the pet food seems to be getting discontinued). But it is entirely possible they are ordering other stuff from Supervalu/UNFI too.

If they are at 2,200 stores and leases are 10 year terms (seems typical for them) then that is 220 stores per year coming up for lease. Of course a few stores are owned, a few more aren't on 10 year leases, a few are so good they won't close them (or will they...?), so I think 145 stores or whatever they are closing may come out about right as to leases ending. I don't see much rhyme or reason to what is being closed aside from big city/assumed high theft units. Stores are being kept open that do even less business than some of the stores closing in CA.

The system the pharmacies use to charge insurance is automated. I don't think the pharmacists have the ability to bilk the insurance in such a pervasive manner as what happened here with Humama. Something was wrong in the system. Really wrong.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by HCal »

I just read that last month Rite Aid rejected a buyout for a 56% premium over their current valuation. The buyers threatened a hostile takeover but I don't know if they are going to actually try.

This means that either management has a plan they are really confident in, or they are just being foolish and stubborn.
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