Rite Aid is planning to close ten additional stores, adding to the number the company has closed since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October.
Court filings in October identified 154 underperforming stores that Rite Aid plans to shut down . A November bankruptcy court filing revealed the company was planning to close an additional 31 stores in a dozen states.
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy as it faced slumping sales and more than a thousand federal, state and local lawsuits accusing it of fueling the opioid epidemic by illegally filling painkiller prescriptions. The company was also facing billions of dollars of debt and declining sales.
Rite Aid spokesperson Catherine Carter said in November the stores that will be closing have been underperforming and will be closed “to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance.” The company plans to give workers at closing stores the option to transfer to other locations .
New court filings this week revealed the company plans to close 10 additional locations (noted in bold below).