Drug store chain Rite Aid has now shuttered all of its stores in two Midwestern states, DailyMail.com reported.
The latest round of closures has left tens of thousands of customers in Michigan and Ohio scrambling to find a new pharmacy and brings to 856 the number of stores closed since the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October.
Before the filing, Rite Aid had more than 2,000 locations in 17 states. Soon after, the company closed 154 stores and continued to close hundreds more at a steady pace.
Most recently, Rite Aid in August shuttered 72 stores in Michigan and Ohio, plus one each in California and Washington.
It's unclear when Rite Aid will emerge from bankruptcy, but DailyMail.com reported that the company plans to return with about 1,300 stores total, down from the 5,059 it operated in its 2008 heyday.
Retail analyst Neil Saunders told DailyMail.com, "Rite Aid is hoping to get itself back onto a firm financial footing, although it will emerge from bankruptcy as a much smaller business with far fewer stores."
Walgreens, another pharmacy giant, is also facing financial woes. The country's second-largest pharmacy chain announced in June it would close a "significant" number of its 8,700 U.S. stores.
CEO Tim Wentworth said, "We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require we approach the market differently."
Brick-and-mortar stores in general have struggled to stay afloat as they lose customers to online retailers and grapple with rampant theft.
In the first four months of 2024, nearly 2,600 stores closed in the U.S., putting the country on pace to lose 8,000 retail locations if the trend continues.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.