Retail Watchers

BillyGr wrote: ↑December 28th, 2021, 9:25 am For instance, in this area you have some that were Rite Aid, then taken over by Walgreens and then closed (so it may look like a closed Rite Aid but is really a closed Walgreens), and you also had closings when Rite Aid took over Eckerd (stores from both chains closed, many times due to being near each other).

Good example of that near me is along NYS Route 30 in the Town of Amsterdam. Rite Aid had a store they got in the Eckerd deal which was a replacement Eckerd built for a former Fay's in the shopping center on the opposite corner. Rite Aid took it over and even upgraded it to their then current decor package just before the Walgreens deal. It was one of the stores they ended up dumping on Walgreens and since they have a store a little further down the road well less than a mile away of course it closed and sits empty. Rite Aid actually got the better of that because they have another store along Route 30 but it's located within the city on Market St. which presumably does a lot of walk in business and is one of only very few pharmacies left in the city. The Route 30 store competed with Hannaford, Price Chopper, Walmart, CVS (in Target) and Walgreens all within less than a mile of each other. The only thing it had going for it is Aldi is next door and their Golf Course Rd. entrance made for easy access to the Rite Aid lot. The Market St. store is blocks away from another pharmacy. It probably also does a decent GM business since there are no large supermarkets left and the two Dollar General locations in the city are quite a hike if you're on foot as well. Rite Aid got rid of a presumably underperforming store, got paid for it and probably even retained some of the prescription business as well.

While out shopping today I saw that the Alderwood Plaza Rite Aid in Lynnwood across the street from Alderwood Mall just closed (they were removing fixtures from the store when I passed by.) Given the timing it's possible that this was an expiring lease, but there are also three Bartell stores within a couple of miles of this one,

The only Rite Aid I've been in recently was a MESS the other day. Also, despite the "Open 24 hours" on the building and being known as one of the area's 24 hour pharmacies, they have cut hours to 8 am to 10 pm.

I'll admit the store's bones looked good if they could just get the merchandise laid out right in them. Lots of Thrifty Ice Cream for purchase.

Customers were in the store and shopping, though. Lots of seasonal left over, but I have seen that in the past at this chain.

It may or may not have been part of the intended list of 63+,but apparently the Irvine/Westpark Plaza location on Alton Parkway/Culver Drive(appears to have been a later PayLess Drug location built either as a SotF or ThriftyPayless hybrid then eventually remodeled into the second version of the Wellness interior by Rite Aid)closed just before the holidays;it was brought up in another thread on this board(California's war on retail or something like that)and verified by the official RAD locator,that same center recently lost its Albertsons(done in by a Sprouts in the same center?!).The same thread reports that Culver/Michelson and Laguna Woods are rumored to be in trouble which could mean Irvine could ultimately be down to the new-ish Irvine Center/405 location(not even open a couple years).Then again as I previously mentioned SoCal does have a higher Rite Aid density comparable to the Big Apple or Philly.

Anyway,in my neck of the woods,both 5409 Sunrise(my store)and 900 Sunrise each have at least one valuable asset:5409 Sunrise on top of being at the intersection of 2 trunk arterials has a cupcake lease dating from the Thrifty years(and sells Blue Rhino propane in an outside locker),though on the subject of shopping center redevelopments(at least according to a colleague who is now at a downtown store)the center owner has attempted to opt out of the lease(so far,RAD has reseted lease buyout offers)and hasn't given up which is what scares me;while 900 Sunrise was not only among one of the first Longs Drugs locations to be built with a pharmacy drive-thru but also sells lottery tickets which few location locally do(Folsom,Greenhaven,and Elk Grove are the only other local locations that sell lottery tickets),not to mention that the only traiditional competitor is across the county line(sunrise/Antelope Walgreens)and about a mile away on top of that(though both Safeway and Bel Air at the same intersection have pharmacies).

Also IMHO,what did in 2101 S street in midtown was that it was only half the size of a typical Rite Aid and had a reduced merchandise mix subpar even compared to 831 K Street(despite limited operating hours is not only much better merchandised but does decent volume during times it is open due to no real competition in the downtown core,the last 2 years can't be considered an accurate barometer considering that it was temporarily closed 4-5 months summer/fall 2020 due to civil unrest damage and not all downtown office workers have returned just yet).

Noticed the Rite Aid on Pleasant Grove in Roseville does not have a sign with the new logo...

Newer store, built in the Customer World design perhaps 15 years ago...

Very busy road, perhaps an easy to miss store.

storewanderer wrote: ↑January 9th, 2022, 8:41 pm Noticed the Rite Aid on Pleasant Grove in Roseville does not have a sign with the new logo...

Newer store, built in the Customer World design perhaps 15 years ago...

Very busy road, perhaps an easy to miss store.

That's pretty curious that they're one of the last local locations not to update their exterior signage(this location opened in August 2009).They however are the middle of a long term lease that doesn't expire until the end of the decade;and when I last checked they've only converted signage on about 85-90% of their store base(we do get monthly rebranding updates on our internal corporate communications).Considering that this store is the closest RAD gets to Rocklin/Lincoln/Loomis(PayLess at 4785 Granite Drive was sold off to Longs in late 1999 and apparently has already gotten its second CVS-era remodel as of August when I passed through the area as evidenced by updated signage along 80),I don't consider this location in danger of closure they're just simply behind other locations in getting new exterior signage,as I have heard of lower volume locations updating their signs before higher volume ones(the 'regional flagship' in Gold River was actually behind most other local locations in updating their signs,as was lower Watt).On the flip side,there have been rare cases of closures of locations that have updated their exterior logo signage(the K/28th pharmacy-only location as well as at least one NYC location).

That is interesting, every location I've seen lately and when traveling put up new signs. So I am very surprised there are still a number of locations without the new signs. Maybe there is some issue with Placer County, on changing the sign. I remember in the late 90's the store in Auburn had Thrifty signs up for months after the rest of the stores got Rite Aid signs, due to an issue getting sign permits. There used to be a Thrifty pole sign out by the road there, that was taken away and not replaced ever.

storewanderer wrote: ↑January 11th, 2022, 11:40 pm That is interesting, every location I've seen lately and when traveling put up new signs. So I am very surprised there are still a number of locations without the new signs. Maybe there is some issue with Placer County, on changing the sign. I remember in the late 90's the store in Auburn had Thrifty signs up for months after the rest of the stores got Rite Aid signs, due to an issue getting sign permits. There used to be a Thrifty pole sign out by the road there, that was taken away and not replaced ever.

As of two weeks ago, I noticed that the Rite Aid in Warrenton, Oregon has not updated their signs. Rite Aid has a long-established store which started as PayLess and actually pre-dates even Fred Meyer, although a lot of new retail has arrived in the last several years. Rite Aid still has stores along the Oregon Coast in other towns, but I haven't been by any of them in a while and do not know if any have been updated.

Super S wrote: ↑January 12th, 2022, 9:15 am

As of two weeks ago, I noticed that the Rite Aid in Warrenton, Oregon has not updated their signs. Rite Aid has a long-established store which started as PayLess and actually pre-dates even Fred Meyer, although a lot of new retail has arrived in the last several years. Rite Aid still has stores along the Oregon Coast in other towns, but I haven't been by any of them in a while and do not know if any have been updated.

That Warrenton Store doesn't look to me like it does much business.

Rite Aid has a program on its website where you can order on the website and pick up in the store. Previously I was able to place an order and pick it up immediately. The store typically fulfilled orders in about 2 minutes.

Now I notice their page says you have to place the order by 8 AM for same day pick up, otherwise it will not be ready until the next day. I figured that was some kind of error or mis-typing. The store closes at 8 PM so I thought maybe they meant 8 PM not 8 AM. I learned the hard way, they did something to their system where the store does not get orders transmitted to it, until the close of business for the evening.

Quite a step backwards. The store is able to match the website pricing however.