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 »

A date has been set for the FY2023Q4 earnings though it appears to be slightly delayed in comparison to prior years.Also,the interim CEO recently posted a message for shareholders;while it appears she can talk the talk,it remains to be seen whether she can walk the walk.In any case,whatever closures that have occurred since new years day have been minimal and likely represents judicious pruning:a below the radar closure in Brooklyn(1154 Clarkson)brings the namesake store count to 2242(a net loss of 15 stores factoring in the new Winchester French Valley location which I still refuse to consider the possibility of it being the last new RAD store ever opened)plus 67 Bartell locations(the closed Chinatown International District location has yet to be removed from the Bartell locator when I last checked).So far few if any of the 16 calendar 2023 closures(some on the east coast were below the radar and I couldn't pinpoint those locations)appear onthe current surplus property list,that North Bend,Oregon lease doesn't expire until the end of 2025.
For your life,Thrifty and Payless have got it.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

Rite Aid in Susanville- pharmacy is open Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5 PM. They have a new store hours large sticker on the door. The "name" box for "pharmacy manager" is blank.

Walgreens pharmacy there is open at least on Saturday as is Wal Mart. Both had lines today.

But the Rite Aid Store is open in Susanville. Store looks pretty good, actually well stocked. Almost nothing is out of stock, not sure how they accomplished that, but they did.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Alpha8472 »

A large number of CVS Pharmacies have recently started closing earlier. Most close at 7 with only a small number of very busy locations open until 8. Most are open 10 to 5 on weekends and closed for a half hour lunch.

Walmart has started to close at 7 on weekdays.

From what I have seen, customers are still showing up at 7 and there are long lines of angry customers complaining that they are closing too early. 7 PM is the time when people have gotten home from and can shop or go to pick up prescriptions. At least open until 7:30 or 8:00.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

Another thing I am noticing since the Wal Mart Pharmacies started closing at 7 PM is that entire section/area surrounding pharmacy of the store feels dead now when 7 PM arrives. I am not sure this is a good move. I think 8 PM would be about right.

The one thing I do notice is the Wal Mart Pharmacy Employees are out of there right after 7 PM. They are not there working in a closed pharmacy like I see at CVS and Safeway.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Alpha8472 »

The problem with pharmacies closing early is that there is no pharmacist to give advice. Customers ask the pharmacist for recommendations practically every 5 minutes. It really generates sales. People want solutions to their medical problems and a pharmacist can give free advice while doctors charge you for an appointment.

Without a pharmacist, people leave without buying anything. The corporate offices need to understand that pharmacists generate sales. Having a closed pharmacy at night means significant lost sales. Customers will travel to another open pharmacy for advice.

Walmart will terminate any employee for working off the clock. The district manager will interrogate employees even for a few minutes of overtime. They can track people via camera, so Walmart employees flee at quiting time. The work has to wait until the next day.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by buckguy »

Alpha8472 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 8:56 pm A large number of CVS Pharmacies have recently started closing earlier. Most close at 7 with only a small number of very busy locations open until 8. Most are open 10 to 5 on weekends and closed for a half hour lunch.

Walmart has started to close at 7 on weekdays.

From what I have seen, customers are still showing up at 7 and there are long lines of angry customers complaining that they are closing too early. 7 PM is the time when people have gotten home from and can shop or go to pick up prescriptions. At least open until 7:30 or 8:00.
This must be a regional thing. The pharmacy depts near me are open until 9 and they have gone back to having 24 hour service in a few widely spaced locations--there are 4 in DC proper.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Super S »

Super S wrote: December 11th, 2022, 10:32 am 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.
Update: I went into the Longview store again this past week, and saw that lights just continue to burn out, the store now looks as if it is in danger of going under.

This store appears to be having many other issues right now as it has a 2.0 rating on Google. I don't always take Google reviews seriously, but it's believable in this case.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

buckguy wrote: April 2nd, 2023, 5:19 am
Alpha8472 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 8:56 pm A large number of CVS Pharmacies have recently started closing earlier. Most close at 7 with only a small number of very busy locations open until 8. Most are open 10 to 5 on weekends and closed for a half hour lunch.

Walmart has started to close at 7 on weekdays.

From what I have seen, customers are still showing up at 7 and there are long lines of angry customers complaining that they are closing too early. 7 PM is the time when people have gotten home from and can shop or go to pick up prescriptions. At least open until 7:30 or 8:00.
This must be a regional thing. The pharmacy depts near me are open until 9 and they have gone back to having 24 hour service in a few widely spaced locations--there are 4 in DC proper.
Standard pharmacy hours for CVS used to be 8 AM to 10 PM Monday-Friday, with few exceptions. Weekends varied and usually it was 9 AM to 6 PM minimum. Around 2017 they started to close some 10 PM stores at 9 PM (both pharmacy and front end), this was a small block of locations and it was done based on traffic analysis.

This 2023 hours cut is not a regional thing. It was reported on by various media outlets, including CNN, a couple months ago.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/business ... index.html

In many areas the hours cuts took place already back in 2022, but even more stores have been cut in recent weeks or are going to be cut in the coming weeks.

They did something similar in I think it was early 2019 and that time they even started closing some front ends at low volume CVS locations as early as 5 PM (they wanted front end hours to match pharmacy hours). That initiative did not last long and front end hours were expanded quickly.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: April 2nd, 2023, 5:45 am
Super S wrote: December 11th, 2022, 10:32 am 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.
Update: I went into the Longview store again this past week, and saw that lights just continue to burn out, the store now looks as if it is in danger of going under.

This store appears to be having many other issues right now as it has a 2.0 rating on Google. I don't always take Google reviews seriously, but it's believable in this case.
Unfortunately that is how many Rite Aid Stores feel right now. Shorter store hours, various maintenance issues, some stores are strangely well stocked while others are full of out of stocks. It is an odd situation I can't quite determine what is happening. Earnings report is April 20.

Foot traffic is clearly way off.

Easter items are not moving well. They have an offer that stacks with various other sales Buy $25 Easter get $5 Bonus Cash. There are various other offers this can stack with and the items are already on sale. Some good deals for sure, definitely better than 50% off (but not better than 75% off).
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by buckguy »

storewanderer wrote: April 2nd, 2023, 11:41 pm
buckguy wrote: April 2nd, 2023, 5:19 am
Alpha8472 wrote: April 1st, 2023, 8:56 pm A large number of CVS Pharmacies have recently started closing earlier. Most close at 7 with only a small number of very busy locations open until 8. Most are open 10 to 5 on weekends and closed for a half hour lunch.

Walmart has started to close at 7 on weekdays.

From what I have seen, customers are still showing up at 7 and there are long lines of angry customers complaining that they are closing too early. 7 PM is the time when people have gotten home from and can shop or go to pick up prescriptions. At least open until 7:30 or 8:00.
This must be a regional thing. The pharmacy depts near me are open until 9 and they have gone back to having 24 hour service in a few widely spaced locations--there are 4 in DC proper.
Standard pharmacy hours for CVS used to be 8 AM to 10 PM Monday-Friday, with few exceptions. Weekends varied and usually it was 9 AM to 6 PM minimum. Around 2017 they started to close some 10 PM stores at 9 PM (both pharmacy and front end), this was a small block of locations and it was done based on traffic analysis.

This 2023 hours cut is not a regional thing. It was reported on by various media outlets, including CNN, a couple months ago.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/business ... index.html

In many areas the hours cuts took place already back in 2022, but even more stores have been cut in recent weeks or are going to be cut in the coming weeks.

They did something similar in I think it was early 2019 and that time they even started closing some front ends at low volume CVS locations as early as 5 PM (they wanted front end hours to match pharmacy hours). That initiative did not last long and front end hours were expanded quickly.
It says "shift or cut hours" --- in my area, the pharmcy opens later than in the past but stays open late. So the early closing is morelikely regional. Bringing back back the 24 hour stores is a fairly recent thing.

The article says 6000 stores would be affected--they have more than 9000, including the Targets.
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