Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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norcalriteaidclerk
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

storewanderer wrote:Store in Pittsburgh Airport received the low budget version of the "new" interior. This one never had the Wellness interior. Store has street pricing, and is after security.

I wonder why the drugstore chains in the US have not pursued airport locations other than this one.
This previously had customer world decor and is one of two pharmacy-less locations in the Steel City (the other is a 24-hour location on the University of Pittsburgh campus thay was long signed as a 'rite aid express'). Pittsburgh has at least as many RAD locations as Philadelphia does though has a smaller population.Maybe it's because Eckerd was founded to the north in Erie.

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

norcalriteaidclerk wrote: December 2nd, 2022, 12:21 am
storewanderer wrote:Store in Pittsburgh Airport received the low budget version of the "new" interior. This one never had the Wellness interior. Store has street pricing, and is after security.

I wonder why the drugstore chains in the US have not pursued airport locations other than this one.
This previously had customer world decor and is one of two pharmacy-less locations in the Steel City (the other is a 24-hour location on the University of Pittsburgh campus thay was long signed as a 'rite aid express'). Pittsburgh has at least as many RAD locations as Philadelphia does though has a smaller population.Maybe it's because Eckerd was founded to the north in Erie.

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It is interesting they explored an airport and campus location then it never expanded beyond Pittsburgh yet both stores are still open today and survived the COVID period when airports and universities basically had no activity. This would imply these stores perform fine.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/struggli ... 34319.html

They would dump this clickbait during a time where we're in the middle of a false sense of security before the upcoming fy2023q3 earnings release.It seems that RAD has constantly made these annual lists for the past fifteen years yet has found a way to hang tough each and every time.Of others on this same list, BBB is most certainly at risk possibly Tuesday morning as well, while I find it interesting that jo~ann makes this list(I wish Hobby Lobby made this endangered list instead and not simply because jo~ann has a Sunrise Village location).Of course the past three years have had interesting dynamics,and I must note that many RAD locations in the PDX don't have an open pharmacy on Sunday despite a minimal CVS presence.

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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norcalriteaidclerk wrote: December 6th, 2022, 6:48 pm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/struggli ... 34319.html

They would dump this clickbait during a time where we're in the middle of a false sense of security before the upcoming fy2023q3 earnings release.It seems that RAD has constantly made these annual lists for the past fifteen years yet has found a way to hang tough each and every time.Of others on this same list, BBB is most certainly at risk possibly Tuesday morning as well, while I find it interesting that jo~ann makes this list(I wish Hobby Lobby made this endangered list instead and not simply because jo~ann has a Sunrise Village location).Of course the past three years have had interesting dynamics,and I must note that many RAD locations in the PDX don't have an open pharmacy on Sunday despite a minimal CVS presence.

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Let's see how many rabbits can be pulled out of the hat during the earnings presentation. Slowly store hours have been expanded the past few months almost back to "normal" in many stores. The way the stock is trading in recent days, the stock looks like it has the flu. Low volume and not much going on. Hopefully this is not a terminal flu where the earnings report will deal it a final blow. I am concerned but hopeful somehow we will find the various tightening they do on budgets, inventory, etc. led to another debt pay down, I think the CFO is very focused on debt pay downs. Given the rate hikes this is wise. But if the rate hikes turn into rate cuts next year it won't matter as much.

Hobby Lobby is very strong. They are running very high volumes. I notice they have storage trailers in Reno (haven't seen those in previous years) so they must also have an "overstocked" problem. I also think Jo-Ann despite not being a retailer I've ever liked, will pull through. There is demand in that sector and they do have a niche with the larger fabric assortment. If they could figure out a way to be more productive in non-fabric categories, they'd solve their financial problems. But no management team of Jo-Ann seems to figure out how to sell the "hard" items the way Hobby Lobby and Michael's can.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

...and another Los Angeles location quietly bit the dust within the past ten days:the Cheviot Hills location at 9864 National (next to Vons off of the 10) was an undersized ra-1(still unremodeled out of it at the end)that was one of the very few California locations to lack a liquor license (it didn't sell even beer)and likely was previously a Thrifty Jr instead of a standard size Thrifty (may have been a non-drugstore retailer prior). Mercifully the prescription files were sent to the Culver Center location (one of the handful of California RAD locations that are 24-hours to any extent)rather than being sold.

We'll see for sure in a fortnights time(fy2023q3 earnings release on the 21st) whether this holidays closure was a mere blip on the radar...or yet another warning sign.


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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: December 6th, 2022, 8:29 pm
norcalriteaidclerk wrote: December 6th, 2022, 6:48 pm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/struggli ... 34319.html

They would dump this clickbait during a time where we're in the middle of a false sense of security before the upcoming fy2023q3 earnings release.It seems that RAD has constantly made these annual lists for the past fifteen years yet has found a way to hang tough each and every time.Of others on this same list, BBB is most certainly at risk possibly Tuesday morning as well, while I find it interesting that jo~ann makes this list(I wish Hobby Lobby made this endangered list instead and not simply because jo~ann has a Sunrise Village location).Of course the past three years have had interesting dynamics,and I must note that many RAD locations in the PDX don't have an open pharmacy on Sunday despite a minimal CVS presence.

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Let's see how many rabbits can be pulled out of the hat during the earnings presentation. Slowly store hours have been expanded the past few months almost back to "normal" in many stores. The way the stock is trading in recent days, the stock looks like it has the flu. Low volume and not much going on. Hopefully this is not a terminal flu where the earnings report will deal it a final blow. I am concerned but hopeful somehow we will find the various tightening they do on budgets, inventory, etc. led to another debt pay down, I think the CFO is very focused on debt pay downs. Given the rate hikes this is wise. But if the rate hikes turn into rate cuts next year it won't matter as much.

Hobby Lobby is very strong. They are running very high volumes. I notice they have storage trailers in Reno (haven't seen those in previous years) so they must also have an "overstocked" problem. I also think Jo-Ann despite not being a retailer I've ever liked, will pull through. There is demand in that sector and they do have a niche with the larger fabric assortment. If they could figure out a way to be more productive in non-fabric categories, they'd solve their financial problems. But no management team of Jo-Ann seems to figure out how to sell the "hard" items the way Hobby Lobby and Michael's can.
I recently visited a newly opened Joann in San Marcos, CA that took an entire former OSH location. All I can say is WOW. If they can somehow borrow enough money to make over their entire fleet into that new format they would become a retail juggernaut overnight. Product, assortment, store design is on point and on trend. They seem to have made the necessary changes to their systems and processes at this new format store to maintain operating standards too. Seasonal merchandise has never been a major focus for Joann, and that is because of the extreme financial risk it carries. Lots of money goes into getting the product into the store (labor, supply chain, warehousing etc.) and if the economy has a hiccup then it all has to be marked down drastically. Hobby Lobby is an outlier - they send back what they don't sell to the company warehouses in Oklahoma City. This is why they look like they're selling the same old stuff each year... Because they are!
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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ClownLoach wrote: December 7th, 2022, 9:18 pm

I recently visited a newly opened Joann in San Marcos, CA that took an entire former OSH location. All I can say is WOW. If they can somehow borrow enough money to make over their entire fleet into that new format they would become a retail juggernaut overnight. Product, assortment, store design is on point and on trend. They seem to have made the necessary changes to their systems and processes at this new format store to maintain operating standards too. Seasonal merchandise has never been a major focus for Joann, and that is because of the extreme financial risk it carries. Lots of money goes into getting the product into the store (labor, supply chain, warehousing etc.) and if the economy has a hiccup then it all has to be marked down drastically. Hobby Lobby is an outlier - they send back what they don't sell to the company warehouses in Oklahoma City. This is why they look like they're selling the same old stuff each year... Because they are!
I think the Jo-Ann in Citrus Heights has this new prototype you describe as well. I think Jo-Ann was forced to relocate in Citrus Heights.

Go over to Google and look at the photos of the Reno Jo Ann, this is my basis point for Jo Ann. This is an old Fabricland Store in an old Kmart Food/Warehouse Market space (was something called Delta Freight between the grocery tenant and Fabricland). Jo Ann has basically spent nothing in this store, it is set up just like Fabricland, same floors, same shelves, they did install checkout counters up front and take out Fabricland's checkstands but that is it. What is worse is this Jo Ann is not in a great area but nearby is the main mall and a long time Toys R Us at the busy intersection vacated and became a Goodwill. Also next to that Stein Mart vacated again that could have been a good relocation for Jo-Ann. Also not far away is a Good Guys building that has been empty ever since Good Guys went bust, again, that would be a great spot for a nicer Jo-Ann, but they don't bother. Another nearby spot went vacant that was a former Circuit City #1 then CompUSA then Goodwill and again that would have been a great relocation for Jo-Ann and again they did not take it. My impression is they are a chain that just... doesn't bother unless they are really pushed. They are lucky they are still in business. I can respect their reasons for not handling much seasonal merchandise, but in that case they should double down on the non-fabric basic items in the aisles on the pegs and really push for volume on those.

Down in Carson City in a dead mall is another Jo-Ann, this store is a former House of Fabrics, and similar lack of effort. There was a Jo-Ann in Sparks that closed for some reason (not sure why, should have been a good spot), it was like Carson a former HOF and zero remodel effort. Before Fabricland in Reno became Jo-Ann, there was another Jo-Ann which opened in a former Thrifty around 1994-1995. They opened up after some asbestos work was done on the building and kept the Thrifty floor, covered up pharmacy with some shelving, even kept an electric door step mat that had the Thrifty logo on it. It was such a low effort store, it felt like one of those makeshift stores like a Spirit Halloween. They had the fabric service counter and checkout in the middle of the store and aisles surrounded it sort of like pinwheels.

Hobby Lobby always goes to 90% off on seasonal items in Reno and seems to sell them down... even at 90% off I find their prices to seem a bit high.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

That new Citrus Heights Jo~ann is indeed a same-center relocation within Sunrise Village.The prior store,along with the long relocated Tuesday morning that was previously a short lived Office Depot,are being gutted(alongside the long vacant fresh choice building,as well as a never-occupied vacant junior anchor space being used as a storage space by Sunrise Village property management,both being razed)to accommodate two new anchor tenant buildings:a City sports club and either of an Amazon fresh or a whole paycheck whole foods (obviously in flux with the uncertain future of Amazon fresh in general).This prior jo~ann replaced an old 1980's fabricland on the NEC of greenback/San Juan,coming to Sunrise Village when the the former home express(built in the late 1980's replacing an old Alpha beta and a few adjacent businesses)turned osh was subdivided when the latter moved into the 1988-era Albertsons turned Ralphs on the sec of the same greenback/San Juan intersection (now subdivided between Crunch Fitness and The 99 Store,the adjacent Payless/RAD building is now largely gutted/hollowed out for a Green acres nursery).

Back to the intended subject,how merlone Geier (http://merlonegeier.com)has chosen to butt heads with RAD instead of coddling my company like they did with jo~ann is certainly beyond me(the Thrifty building is now the least changed exterior wise of the buildings left over from the center's opening in September 1975,along with the Wienerschnitzel).As long as the prospect of any further California RAD closures (beyond Los Angeles/9864 National which closed the week after Thanksgiving)remains lower than the Auburn dam actually getting built,all will be well once again.Oh did I forget to mention that for the first time since the new logo was launched in September 2020 they finally pruned all the closed locations(some as far back as November 2020 as sixteen closures actually occurred prior to labor day 2021)from the official RAD locator?*keeps fingers crossed for good news on the fy2023q3 earnings front*

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Super S »

I recently visited the Longview, WA Rite Aid, and noticed signs of neglect starting to appear, mainly, the lighting. This store has not converted to LED lighting, and there were a number of scattered burned-out lights as well as several flickering wall displays. This doesn't look good when the stores spend so much time and money updating signage and exterior colors. Overall, the store actually looks ok (It received a major, thorough remodel when the adjoining Triangle Mall was demolished in the early 2000s), but good lighting goes a long way in appearance. Working fluorescent lighting does dim a bit as it ages, and combined with burned out lights, makes the whole store darker.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

I am noticing janitorial in Rite Aid seems to be going downhill. Floors do not seem to be cleaned much anymore. Lights still look good in the stores I go into.

I know we have had a lot of opinions about the new logo and the pros and cons of the new logo but I wish they had spent that money on new stores instead. Some of these stores got that new logo yet can't maintain operating hours, have little merchandise inside, or maintenance issues. It would have been best to get the stores right first, THEN change the logo (like Safeway did logo changes only when a Lifestyle remodel was completed- to signify that something changed in this store...). The Rite Aid new logo put a change outside but then nothing changed inside, actually inside got worse with less merchandise and shorter hours.
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