In a bankruptcy court filing Oct. 18, Rite Aid said it will close 154 stores in more than 10 states to save on rent costs, according to The New York Times. Details on the round of store closures came just days after the retail pharmacy chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Rite Aid has more than 2,000 stores in 17 states. Of the 154 planned closures, about 40 are Pennsylvania locations. Many stores in California and New York will also close, and additional store closings may be forthcoming as Rite Aid looks to shed about $4 billion in debt.
The Philadelphia-based company previously said it secured $3.45 billion from lenders to fund operations through the bankruptcy restructuring, with McKesson Corp. as the largest creditor. Alongside the bankruptcy filing, Rite Aid announced Jeffrey Stein as its new CEO and chief restructuring officer.
Leading up to its bankruptcy filing, the troubled drugstore chain disclosed in a regulatory filing Oct. 18 that it incurred losses exceeding $1 billion in the 13 weeks ending Sept. 2.
According to the filing, Rite Aid reported $5.65 billion in revenue and a net loss of $1.02 billion, marking a contrast with the year-ago period when the company had $5.9 billion in sales and a net loss of $331 million.