Iconic retail chain shuts down its remaining stores in bankruptcy

The U.S. drugstore retail sector is facing a predominant transformation with colossal pharmacy shops downsizing operations to lower charges and some submitting for financial raze.

The United States's largest drugstore chains like closed heaps of of store locations over the final four years to decrease labor charges, put off above-market leases, poke leakage from theft, and shut down underperforming stores.

Some of the nation's smaller pharmacy chains, facing identical financial wound, had been forced to file for financial raze protection to restructure debt.

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Giant drugstore chain Rite Befriend, nonetheless, filed for Chapter 11 financial raze for the first time on Oct. 15, 2023, and closed about 800 of its 2,100 stores in a reorganization.

The pharmacy chain's surviving entity, New Rite Befriend LLC, filed for Chapter 11 protection a second time on May 5, 2025, and started closing all of its stores, estimated at about 1,240 locations at the time.

Rite Befriend recordsdata financial raze look at to shut the final of its stores

Rite Befriend is drawing come the halt of its existence because it filed its 14th look at of additional store closing locations with the U.S. Financial disaster Court docket for the District of New Jersey on July 25, seeking approval to shut 17 extra stores and liquidate their property, which provides to previously designated locations for closing in its second financial raze, for a complete of 1,237 stores.

The debtor has no longer indicated if any additional stores remain to be closed.

The retailer already filed its final pickle closing recount on July 10.

Rite Befriend's 14th additional closing look at consists of store closures in five states, including Washington (11), New York (3), California (1) Oregon (1), and Pennsylvania (1).

Objections to the 14th closure look at are due by Aug. 4.

Rite Befriend closures by suppose:

• California (348)
• Connecticut (15)
• Delaware (29)
• Idaho (7)
• Maryland (23)
• Massachusetts (4)
• New Hampshire (47)
• New Jersey (61)
• New York (178)
• Ohio (4)
• Oregon (36)
• Pennsylvania (352
• Vermont (5)
• Virginia (26)
• Washington (102)

Rite Befriend on July 21 filed its 13th look at of additional store closing locations, seeking to shutter one pickle in Colonial Heights, Va.

Objections to the 13th look at are due by July 31.

Rite Befriend already filed 14 notices of store closing locations with the usual look at and an additional closing look at on May 9, followed by additional closing notices on May 15, May 23, May 30, June 6, June 13, June 20, June 27, July 3, July 11, July 18, and July 21.

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The first 14 groups of store closings listed 1,220 locations in 15 states, including Pennsylvania (351), California (347), New York (175), Washington (91), New Jersey (61), New Hampshire (47), Oregon (35) Delaware (29), Virginia (26), Maryland (23), Connecticut (15), Idaho (7), Vermont (5), Massachusetts (4), and Ohio (4).

One other predominant drugstore chain, CVS, in 2021 began its downsizing campaign when it said it may maybe shut 900 of its nearly 9,900 stores to decrease charges and lower losses, closing 300 locations yearly in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

The firm extended the downsizing campaign into 2025, revealing in its annual document in February that it may maybe shut 271 extra stores this year.

Walgreens, which operates about 8,600 stores, evaluated 2,000 stores for potential closure and identified 1,200 locations to shutter over the subsequent three years, with 500 pickle to shut in fiscal year 2025.

Drugstore chain pickle closings:

• CVS: 1,171 store closings 2022-2025.
• Walgreens: 1,200 store closings 2025-2027.
• Rite Befriend: 2,037 store closings 2023-2025.

Closing stores would no longer be ample for a lot of smaller drugstore chains which like opted for Chapter 11 financial raze to reorganize their agencies.

Smaller pharmacy financial raze filings

Jap Kentucky drugstore chain Rx In the reduction of fee Pharmacy, with about seven pharmacy and healthcare agencies, on May 1, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 financial raze reorganization.

CL Cressler Inc., the proprietor of seven Medications Shoppe Pharmacy stores situated in Pennsylvania and New York, on Aug. 29, 2024, filed for Chapter 11 financial raze to reorganize its debts.

At final, in Arkansas, drugstore chain Doctor's Orders Pharmacy on July 21 filed for Chapter 11 financial raze, as its guardian Whitehall Pharmacy LLC confronted a breach of contract lawsuit.