FALL RIVER – Rite Aid Co. will close 63 stores nationwide, the pharmacy chain announced on Tuesday, though local Rite Aid locations will not be impacted.
The Philadelphia-based company announced the closure plans as part of a third-quarter fiscal report. The report indicated more closures may be announced further down the line, calling the 63 stores an “initial” selection.
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Rite Aid does not have any locations in Rhode Island, according to the pharmacy’s website. Former Rite Aid stores in the state were absorbed by Walgreen Co.
There are six Rite Aid locations in southeastern Massachusetts: three in Fall River and three in New Bedford. A spokesperson for Rite Aid told PBN that the Fall River and New Bedford stores are not included in the chain’s current closure plan.
Rite Aid did not specify which locations will close. The company operates more than 2,400 stores in 18 states.
The plan to close 63 stores nationally will “reduce costs, drive improved profitability and ensure that we have a healthy foundation to grow from, with the right stores in the right locations for the communities we serve and for our business,” said Rite Aid CEO and President Heyward Donigan in a statement.
The closings will result in an estimated earnings before adjusted interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, benefit of $25 million, according to the company’s report.
The announcement comes about a month after Woonsocket-based CVS Pharmacy Inc. announced that it plans to close around 900 stores nationwide over the next three years due to changes in population, consumer-buying habits and health care needs.
CVS operates 67 stores in Rhode Island, with around 8,600 employees in the state.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Voghel@PBN.com.
