ALBANY — Rite Aid, the struggling drugstore chain with 1,245 stores in 15 states, is planning to close all of its 178 stores in New York state, including 11 local stores, as part of a plan to sell all of its assets through a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, its second bankruptcy in two years.
Philadelphia-based Rite Aid was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pa. and at its peak had more than 5,000 stores.
But like other pharmacy chains across the country, such as CVS and Walgreens , Rite Aid has been plagued by losses and fierce competition from Walmart and other big-box retailers. The South End Rite Aid, the last one in downtown Albany, closed in 2018 . It was replaced with a Dollar General, which recently announced its closure …