ANOTHER pharmacy chain has closed as the company is reportedly heading to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration.
Rite Aid shut down a pharmacy in Flint, Michigan, on September 6.
Rite Aid told local publications that the brand would try to help displaced workers find new jobs in the company.
The brand said the location shut down because of "business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance," according to local ABC affiliate WJRT.
Rite Aid also gave the publication the same comment it has used for other store closures this year.
"We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services," the statement said.
MORE CLOSURES
Rite Aid has shut down over 30 stores across the US this year.
The company has also shut down several Bartell Drugs locations.
Rita Aid acquired Bartell Drugs in 2020 for $95million.
This month, the company announced closures in Idaho and New York.
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A New York City-based community civic activist, Charlene Stubbs, told Queens Chronicle many area residents are nervous about the commute to the other Rite Aid pharmacy where their prescriptions are located.
Stubbs also expressed concern for the Rite Aid employees.
"They were told if there’s an opening they can still work for Rite Aid, but they can’t guarantee it," Stubbs said.
HEADED FOR BANKRUPTCY?
Rite Aid may be heading for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In response to the report, Rite Aid told The U.S. Sun: "We do not comment on rumors or speculation."
Rite Aid forecasts earning losses between "approximately $650 million and $680 million" in 2024.
The losses would compound the business' nearly $3.3billion in debt as the stores continuously bleed money.
The brand's chief financial officer said that it is looking at shutting down more locations.
"We're constantly looking at performance of stores, particularly ones that don't have much lease life left on the lease and determining whether we've got an opportunity to continue to maximize the profitability and the efficiency of the fleet," Rite Aid's CFO and executive vice president, Matthew Schroeder, said in a quarterly earnings call.
"I would expect us to continue to do that."
The bankruptcy could help the company consolidate thousands of lawsuits alleging wrongdoing in the pharmacy chain's alleged involvement in the opioid crisis.
A bankruptcy could force federal courts to move lawsuits alleging the company broke rules under the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Rite Aid has consistently denied wrongdoing in any opioid lawsuits.
Bankruptcy filings were submitted by the three drug manufacturers of Oxycodone - Purdue, Mallinckrodt, and Endo.
The three companies were on the hook to pay upwards of $8billion to addiction victims, families, and communities.
The bankruptcies could jeopardize the fund transfer, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Read More on The US Sun
The U.S. Sun reports on other store closures - here is another pharmacy brand that is shuttering several stores.
Also, here is a list of other Rite Aid closures.
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