American Drugstore Retailer Rite Aid Shuts Down Its Last Locations
This prominent American drugstore retailer Rite Aid has confirmed the closure of all its remaining outlets.
This past Saturday, the firm's website was updated with a notice confirming: "All Rite Aid stores have currently shut down. We appreciate our loyal customers for their many years of support." The site also included a link for patrons to request their pharmacy records.
Founded in 1962, the company was once a leading pharmacy chains in the United States. At its peak, Rite Aid operated up to 5,000 locations.
But in the past few years, the chain faced financial struggles and a Justice Department probe. By Friday under 100 locations were still open.
Rite Aid had entered Chapter 11 in late 2023 and then in mid-2025.
The firm also faced legal issues over its role in the opioid crisis. In 2022, Rite Aid paid up to $30 million to settle legal claims claiming it contributed to the flow of painkillers in the United States.
In the subsequent year, in its 2023 bankruptcy submission, the firm indicated that restructuring would help it "settle legal disputes."
Rite Aid also encountered a federal lawsuit in which officials alleged the company's locations filled unlawful orders for powerful painkillers. The company reached a resolution in mid-2024.
Other American pharmacy retailers have likewise been closing outlets throughout the country, though various factors have been cited.
From 2021 onward, CVS has shut down over 1,000 stores as part of a broader move.
Separately, Walgreens, which was not long ago purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, shut down 500 locations over the past year.
Experts have expressed worries about growing "pharmacy deserts" in the United States, where millions of residents reside lacking a drugstore nearby and must travel to get prescriptions filled.
