Rite Aid

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Rite Aid Corporation

A Rite Aid store in Glendale, California in 2023
Formerly	Thrift D Discount Center (1962–1968)
Company type	Private
Traded as	NYSE: RAD (1970-2023) OTC Pink: RADCQ (2023-2024)
Industry	Retail
Founded	September 12, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-09-12) In Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
Founder	Alex Grass
Fate	Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidation
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States[1]
Number of locations	110 (August 2025)[2]
Key people	Matt Schroeder (CEO) Steve Bixler (CFO)
Products	Pharmacy, grocery store, liquor store
Revenue	US$24.04 billion (FY2021)[3]
Operating income	US$47.14 million (FY2021)[3]
Net income	US$−90.9 million (FY2021)[3]
Total assets	US$9.335 billion (FY2021)[4]
Total equity	US$615.2 million (FY2021)[4]
Number of employees	31,000 (2024)
Subsidiaries	Bartell Drugs[5][6]
Website	riteaid.com

Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1] It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name "Thrift D Discount Center". Prior to its first bankruptcy in 2023, it was the third-largest drugstore chain in the United States. The company had more than 1,200 stores in 15 U.S. states, primarily on the East and West coasts. The numbers have gone down rapidly because of the bankruptcy they have had.

After several years of growth, Rite Aid adopted its current name and debuted as a public company in 1968. Rite Aid was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RAD, and ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 in 2022.^[7] The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice, in October 2023 and May 2025, due to a large debt load, thousands of lawsuits alleging involvement in the opioid crisis, and a failed restructuring.^[8] The company has been closing stores rapidly across America since.

Alex Grass founded the Rite Aid chain in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in September 1962,^[9][10] after marrying into Harrisburg Pennsylvania's Lehrman family in the early 1950s.^[11] The first store was called Thrift D Discount Center.^[12] The store expanded into five additional states in 1965 and went public as Rite Aid in 1968.^[10] It moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1970.^[13][14]

Ten years after its first store opened, Rite Aid operated 267 locations in 10 states.^[11] Rite acquired Baltimore, Maryland's Read's Drug Store in 1977.^[15] In June 1981, Teamsters Local 182 began a strike over paid vacation benefits. The union charged Rite Aid with being locked out. The strike went on for ten months when a National Labor Relations Board meeting was scheduled for July 19, 1982.^[16] 1983 marked a sales milestone of $1 billion. A 420-store acquisition along the East Coast expanded Rite Aid's holdings beyond 2,000 locations.^{[citation needed]}

In early October 1984, Rite Aid bought the Federal Plaza building in downtown Youngstown vacated by Woolworth's.^[17] A large number of acquisitions brought the chain to the state of Michigan in late October 1984. These were of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Muir Drug and Remes Drug, along with Lippert Pharmacy of Lowell and Herrlich Drug of Flint.^{[18][19][20][21]} One year later, Rite Aid opened stores in Lansing, Michigan, through the acquisition of State Vitamin.^[22] Rite Aid expanded further into Ohio in 1987 through the acquisition of Cleveland-based Gray Drug from Sherwin Williams.^[23][24] In March 1988, Rite Aid acquired the Richmond, Kentucky based Begley Drug Stores including six home health centers in Kentucky and one hundred-forty dry cleaning stores in ten states.^[25] In June 1988, the Ohio Division of Liquor Control processed the liquor licenses that were up for renewal after the Gray Drug acquisition to Rite Aid.^[26] On April 10, 1989, Peoples Drug's 114-unit Lane Drug of Ohio was purchased by Rite Aid.^[27][28][29] In November 1989, it was reported by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) that Rite Aid cut available hours for employees to work at their stores after the Lane Drug purchase.^[30]

In the 1990s, Rite Aid partnered with Carl Paladino's Ellicott Development Co. to expand the company's presence in upstate New York.^[31] In 1992, Rite Aid bought Wellby Super Drug from Hannaford Brothers.^[32][33] In June 1992, Maine's prescription drug program with Medco Containment Services came under fire by Rite Aid.^[34] In January 1994, Rite Aid CEO Martin Grass announced that two hundred drugstores would close within six months. The company sold its auto parts, book, and dry cleaning outlets. Rite Aid also decided to open seventy-five new drugstores by February 1995.^[35] In May 1994, Rite Aid acquired LaVerdiere's as part of its expansion into Northern New England.^[36] The company acquired twenty-four Hook's Drug Stores stores in late 1994, selling nine of those stores to Perry Drug Stores, a Michigan-based pharmacy chain. In December 1994, Rite Aid announced that the company would acquire Perry, entering Metro Detroit for the first time and expanding its presence in Michigan even further.^[37][38][39] In February 1995, Revco took over Rite Aid's store on Braddock Avenue in Pittsburgh.^[40] In March 1995, Alex Grass stepped down as chairman and CEO. His son, Martin Grass, took over.^[41] In July 1995, Rite Aid expanded into Portland, Maine by purchasing eighteen stores from Brooks Pharmacy. Rite Aid sold thirty stores to Brooks in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Brooks also acquired prescription files from another six stores in Massachusetts.^[42][43] In October 1995, Rite Aid announced a new store opening in Hampden, Maine. Downeast Pharmacy was there servicing the roughly 6,000 residents at the time.^[44][45] In November 1995, Rite Aid announced a deal to merge with Revco worth $1.8 billion in cash and stock,^[46][47] however, the deal fell through as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was ready to file an antitrust lawsuit.^[48][49] Revco's top executives were against the sale to Rite Aid, however, shareholders were for it.^[50] In December 1995, Rite Aid announced that the Revco deal would have closed about 300 and cut 1,000 jobs.^[51] CVS eventually bought Revco in 1997.^[52]

In February 1996, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) required three stores be divested after the LaVerdiere's purchase in 1994.^[53] In April 1996, Rite Aid announced it was buying Honeyland Pharmacy in Schenectady, New York.^[54] In June 1996, Rite Aid was in the second year of a three-year expansion.^[55] In September 1996, representatives from Rite Aid met with residents of Orono, Maine about their concerns with building a larger store.^[56] On October 14, 1996, the company acquired Thrifty PayLess, a 1,000-store West Coast chain. The acquisition of Thrifty PayLess included the Northwest-based Bi-Mart membership discount stores.^[57][58][59] A day later, Rite Aid announced it would sell Bi-Mart.^[60][61] It was sold off in 1997.^[62] In August 1996, Rite Aid planned to build new stores in Madawaska and Fort Kent while enlarging stoers in Houlton and Caribou in Aroostook County, Maine^[63] In January 1997, Rite Aid was negotiating with Angus King, the then-governor of Maine, for liquor licenses. Some lawmakers had concerns. King had wanted to follow through with closing the state liquor stores which had begun two years prior. The loss of state jobs had been a sore point for lawmakers.^[64][65] In March 1997, Rite Aid announced plans to build a distribution center in Harford County, Maryland creating 850 jobs.^[66] In July 1997, Rite Aid acquired Harco, Inc. and K&B, Inc. which brought the company into the Gulf Coast area.^[67][68]

In early January 1998, Rite Aid delayed its plans for a new store in Bucksport, Maine.^[69] In mid January 1998, Rite Aid announced about 200 employees lost their jobs at its New Orleans distribution center. The company expanded its customer service center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and created 100 jobs.^[70] In February 1998, Rite Aid was exploring the idea to relocate its Hampden store located next to Hampden Academy.^[71] In mid April 1998, Rite Aid made an agreement with National City Bank to sublease and operate a branch inside its store in the 5100 block of Penn avenue in Pittsburgh.^[72] In late April 1998, Rite Aid closed its store in downtown Youngstown at Amedia Plaza.^[73] In early May 1998, Rite Aid planned to build a new store in Guilford, Maine, however, the construction was delayed over concerns the representatives from Rite Aid not joining in on the discussion.^[74] In late May 1998, HIV/AIDS activists picketed some of the stores in the Philadelphia area because they felt the company failed to adequately stock HIV prescriptions leaving customers in a risky position where they had to wait two or three weeks.^[75] In June 1998, residents of Blue Hill, Maine met with city officials and the developer who was building a new Rite Aid store. Residents had questions. The city planning board approved the new building.^[76] In early July 1998, Bucksport, Maine residents remained skeptical of the pans to replace two smaller Rite Aid stores with a superstore.^[77] A few days later, the residents of Bangor, Maine had a public hearing on Rite Aid building a new store after rezoning was approved. The Bangor city council referred the matter back to the planning board.^[78] In late July 1998, Rite Aid rebuilt the store previously built by Woolworth's and later occupied by Harco, Inc. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that had burned down in November 1997.^[68] In mid September 1998, Rite Aid announced it would build an 11,000 square foot a store in Washington, Pennsylvania to replace a smaller store. The three businesses that were occupying the building to be torn down caused problems for the renters.^[79] In late September 1998, Rite Aid was denied a permit to build a superstore by the Bucksport planning board. The company was deciding to appeal the decision.^[80] In August 1998, the new store planned in Bucksport was still delayed. Residents still had concerns.^[81] In November 1998, Rite Aid decided not to build a new store in Bangor sitting rising costs.^[82] In December 1998, Rite Aid announced it would not open a new store in Five Mile Fork, Virginia as previously planned.^[83] On February 10, 1999, Rite Aid acquired Plaza Drugs in Owosso, Michigan.^[84] The next day, analysts thought there would be problems when Grass had a stake in a real estate business which built a shopping center in 1998 and Rite Aid moved in the center.^[85] In 1999, Rite Aid closed 600 poorly performing stores.^[86] In 1999, Rite Aid bought the Gulf gas station at the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburg for $2 million. In late May 1999, the company planned to build a new store in the neighborhood. The problem was parking.^[87] In September 1999, Rite Aid planned to phase out its distribution center in Farr West, Utah and moving it to Los Angeles.^[88] On October 19, 1999, Martin Grass, chairman and CEO, stepped down with losses mounting from debt that occurred from rapid expansion. The board of directors named Timothy J. Noonan, the company's then current president and COO, as CEO. The board created a new executive committee consisting of four outside directors.^[89] On October 20, 1999, the company's stock had risen to $30 per share, however, dropped again precipitously to $4.40 per share.^[90] A few days later, Rite Aid shareholders were angered by the stock dropping from $50 per share in January to $9.56 per share. Douglas Wilburne said, "Frankly, some people are looking for a little catharsis".^[91] On November 16, 1999, Leonard Green took over as chairman of Rite Aid.^[92][93] On November 23, 1999, Rite Aid announced that new projects were on hold.^[94] In early December 1999, Bob Miller took over Rite Aid as chairman and CEO, helping to stabilize and save the company from bankruptcy. Miller had worked thirty years for Albertson's and then Kroger. Rite Aid hired Deloitte & Touche as its auditing firm after KPMG LLP resigned in November.^{[93][95][96][97]} Mary Sammons of Fred Meyer was tapped by Leonard Green of Leonard Green & Partners to become president and chief operating officer.^[95][98] David Jessick, a former executive at Thrifty Payless and Fred Meyer, became the Chief administrative officer (CAO). John T. Standley, from Fred Meyer, became the Chief financial officer (CFO).^[99]

In April 2000, Rite Aid announced it had secured a $1 billion in credit from Citibank in addition with J.P. Morgan converting $200 million in bank debt to Rite Aid stock at a price of $5.50 each. Rite Aid also announced it would take PCS Health Systems, Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), off the market.^[100] In mid July 2000, Rite Aid sold PCS Health Systems to Advance Paradigm for $1 Billion.^[86][101] In January 2001, Rite Aid missed Wall Street's estimates, but sales were on the increase. Earnings were showing progress. Its EBITDA showed improvement.^[102] In July 2001, Rite Aid agreed to improve its pharmacy complaint process by implementing a new program to respond to consumer complaints.^[103] In December 2001, Rite Aid sold off its stores in the Columbus, Ohio, market to CVS.^[104] In mid April 2003, Pittsburgh City Council and the residents of the 5100 block of Pennsylvania avenue were angered by the store closure in the neighborhood.^[72] In late April 2003, Rite Aid had a small quarterly gain. Its debt of $6.6 billion in 2000 went down to $3.9 billion.^[105] In July 2004, Rite Aid expanded for the first time its near-collapse in 1999. The company also sold 1,260 Eckard stores to CVS.^[86][106] Sammons became CEO in 2003.^[107]

In January 2006, Rite Aid proposed an expansion of its Beaver, Pennsylvania store. Zoning issues occurred for the loading dock.^[108] In March 2006, residents of Beaver, opposed the construction of a new Rite Aid store.^[109] On August 23, 2006, The Wall Street Journal announced that Rite Aid would acquire the U.S. subsidiary of Quebec-based Jean Coutu Group, including 1,858 Eckerd Pharmacy and Brooks Pharmacy stores, for US$3.4 billion in cash and issuing stock, which would also give Jean Coutu a 32% equity stake in Rite Aid.^{[110][111][112]} In October 2006, Change to Win Federation (CtW), a labor union, asked Miller to delay a shareholder vote on the Brooks/Eckard merger. The request was denied.^[113] In January 2007, Rite Aid shareholders had to take a vote on the purchase of the Jean Coutu Group US subsidiary.^[114] The company's shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger on January 18, 2007.^{[110][111][112]} The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the deal on June 2, 2007.^[115] The deal closed on June 4 of that year.^{[110][111][112]} Following an antitrust review, Rite Aid was required to divest 23 stores.^[116][117] Rite Aid later announced that the two chains' stores would be rebranded, retiring the 109-year-old Eckerd banner; all stores were converted to Rite Aid by September 2007. The subsidiaries previously responsible for operating their respective chains remained active and began operating in name only.^{[118][119][120]} The merger made Rite Aid the dominant drug store retailer in the Eastern United States and the third largest drug retailer nationwide; at its peak in 2008, Rite Aid had a total of 5,059 stores and employed 112,800 people.^[121] The following fiscal quarter saw an increase in revenue but a sharp fall in net income as Rite Aid began the integration process, and The New York Times reported that Rite Aid saw record-breaking losses that year.^[122] Rite Aid shares fell over 75% between September 2007 and September 2008, closing at a low of $0.98 on September 11, 2008, and subsequently dropping to $0.20 on March 6, 2009.^[123] In February 2007, Rite Aid received permission from the Bryan city council to build a 11,000 square-foot pharmacy.^[124]

Similar to what CVS experienced in the Chicago metropolitan area after its purchase of Albertsons drug store chains, the deal gave Rite Aid stores that were too close to each other. In many situations, especially in Pennsylvania, where both chains were dominant and had roots in the Commonwealth (Rite Aid originated in Scranton; Eckerd began in Erie, while Thrift Drug was popular in the Pittsburgh area, there were, in some cases, neighboring Rite Aid stores. However, in March 2008, some of these overlapping stores were closed. Most of these stores that closed were pre-existing Rite Aids from before the Eckerd deal, since Eckerd had built newer, more modern stores with drive-through pharmacies and larger space under ownership of both JCPenney and Jean Coutu Group; and the "moved to" sites were converted Eckerds. Employees at the closed stores were transferred to nearby locations.^[125] As a former subsidiary of JCPenney, Eckerd accepted JCPenney's store credit card, a practice continued by Rite Aid to this day. Many stores acquired from Brooks Eckerd had previously been Rite Aid locations, as Rite Aid had sold some stores to JCPenney's Thrift Drug chain in the mid-1990s (shortly before JCPenney's acquisition of Eckerd), and had sold all of its Massachusetts stores to Brooks in 1995. After the Brooks Pharmacy and Eckerd Pharmacy mergers, Rite Aid became the third-largest retail drugstore chain in the country.^[18] On January 4, 2008, Rite Aid announced the closure of all 28 of its stores in the Las Vegas Valley and the sale of patient prescription files from the market to Walgreens. The company said Las Vegas was a non-core market that had not been contributing to overall results and it had not opened a new store there since 1999. One Nevada store would remain open in Gardnerville, near the California border, where Rite Aid at the time had more than 600 stores.^[126] It exited Nevada entirely as the Gardnerville store closed in December 2023.^[127] On February 5, 2009, Rite Aid announced that it would terminate operations of seven Rite Aid stores in San Francisco, along with five stores in eastern Idaho through a sale to Walgreens.^[128] Founder Alex Grass died of cancer on August 27, 2009.^[129]

In June 2010, John Standley was promoted from chief operating officer to chief executive officer, with former CEO Mary Sammons retaining her position as chairperson;^[130] Ken Martindale, previously co-president of Pathmark, was named chief operating officer.^[131] In April 2013, Jan Coutu sold 72.5 million of its shares in Rite Aid to the company.^[132] In July 2013, Jean Coutu sold its remaining shares of Rite Aid.^[133]

In February 2015, Rite Aid purchased EnvisionRx, a pharmacy benefit manager, which owns subsidiary PBMs MedTrak, Connect Health Solutions, and Smith Premier Services.^[134][135]

On October 27, 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that it expected to acquire Rite Aid for $9.4 billion, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.^[136] The combined company would have been the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, reportedly controlling 46% of the market.^[137] Walgreens planned to keep the Rite Aid name on existing stores if the deal went through, though the company's long-term plans for the Rite Aid name were unknown.^[138]

Most analysts expected that the merger would close by the end of 2016; it was initially delayed by regulatory review.^[139] It was announced on December 21, 2016, that to address antitrust concerns, Rite Aid would sell 865 stores to Fred's for $950 million,^[140] though the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was dissatisfied with the proposal, and requested the sale of 650 additional stores.^[141] In January 2017, Rite Aid and Walgreens further delayed the merger's closing to July, and reduced the sale price to approximately $6.8 billion.^[141] 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a labor union representing 6,000 Rite Aid employees, announced its opposition to the merger on January 31.^[142]

On June 29, 2017, Walgreens announced the cancellation of the merger. Walgreens instead offered to purchase 2,186 Rite Aid stores, less than half of the chain, for $5.18 billion (plus a $325 million cancellation penalty), a deal which would have seen Rite Aid effectively exit the southeastern United States.^{[143][144][145]} Further negotiations led to a fourth revised deal, in which Walgreens would purchase 1,932 Rite Aid locations for $4.38 billion, which was approved by the FTC on September 19.^[146] The revised sale was completed on March 27, 2018, leaving Rite Aid with roughly 2,600 remaining stores.^[147][148] Three distribution centers and related inventory were transferred starting September 1, 2018, and the majority of stores were then rebranded as Walgreens. 600 stores were closed, most of which were Rite Aid stores within a mile of an existing Walgreens.^{[149][150][151]}

On February 20, 2018, Albertsons announced plans to acquire the remainder of Rite Aid, in a merger of equals, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.^[152][153] On August 8, 2018, Rite Aid announced that the plan had failed to please shareholders and the proposed acquisition would be cancelled.^[154]

In June 2019, Rite Aid closed its last store in Bangor, Maine.^[155]

In October 2020, Rite Aid announced the acquisition of the privately held Bartell Drugs, a 67-location Seattle-area chain, for $95 million.^{[156][157][158]} Some customers criticized the acquisition with reports of heavy staff turnover and computer system glitches.^[159]

In 2022, Rite Aid relocated its headquarters from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia.^[160][161] As of fiscal year 2022, Pennsylvania, with 494 stores, is home to the largest number of Rite Aid locations, followed by California and New York, with 487 and 281 respectively.^[162] On October 4, 2023, Rite Aid was told that it could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.^[163] On October 16, 2023, the process of delisting Rite Aid from the New York Stock Exchange commenced.^[164]

On August 25, 2023, Rite Aid announced that it was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within the coming weeks, in an effort to settle federal and state lawsuits over the company's role in the opioid crisis. Plans called for the potential closure of up to 500 underperforming locations nationwide.^[165][166] In October 2023, CreditRiskMonitor reported that Rite Aid was nearing a potential bankruptcy filing.^[167]

On October 15, 2023, amid several opioid lawsuits and legal battles, Rite Aid and some of its affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The next day, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and commenced trading over the counter.^[168] The company said in a statement it had secured $3.5 billion in financing and debt reduction agreements from lenders to keep the company afloat through its bankruptcy. Around 500 stores shuttered over the remainder of 2023.^[169] On October 16, Rite Aid announced that 92 additional stores would either be shuttered or sold to other pharmacies.^[170] On October 18, Rite Aid warned investors that it might not be able to survive its bankruptcy filing and might have to permanently shutter or sell all of its remaining stores over the next twelve months.^[171] That day, the company announced the closure of 154 stores, and its stock closed at an all-time low of $0.13 per share.^[172][173]

As shown in the company's bankruptcy filings, its 2007 acquisitions, The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) USA Inc. (Jean Coutu's former U.S. subsidiary) and Eckerd Corporation, remain active in-name-only subsidiaries of Rite Aid, despite the conversions of Brooks and Eckerd to Rite Aid and Coutu's sale of its remaining shares in Rite Aid 10 years prior.^[174]

On October 19, competitor Walgreens agreed to pay $192.5 million in an effort to settle a lawsuit from Rite Aid investors accusing them that their executives misled them about their bid to acquire Rite Aid back in 2017.^[175]

On November 16, Rite Aid sued the United States Department of Justice in an effort to block an opioid lawsuit that accused the company of ignoring warnings and falsely filed thousands of prescriptions for addictive opioid medications.^[176] On November 21, a bankruptcy judge ordered Rite Aid to fully reorganize its operations by March 1, 2024. Rite Aid warned that if it failed to fully reorganize by the deadline, the company could face liquidation.^[177] On November 29, Rite Aid announced the closure of 30 additional stores by December 2023.^[178] On December 5, Rite Aid announced that 79 stores would be put up for sale.^[179]

On December 19, Rite Aid agreed to a bankruptcy mediation with its opioid victims and creditors that would be supervised by the court. Rite Aid received a loan approval that would allow for the company to receive approximately $200 million.^[180] That same day, Rite Aid announced that they had settled with the Federal Trade Commission over their AI-powered facial recognition technology, agreeing to a five-year ban to forbid using facial recognition technology in all of their stores after being accused of misusing the system for falsely identifying shoppers of race and color. The system was originally supposed to be used to identify shoppers likely involved in criminal activity.^[181] In addition, Rite Aid announced the closure of 19 additional stores nationwide.^[182]

On December 21, Rite Aid cancelled an auction for its Elixir division after no other higher bids came in, selling the insurance-related company to MedImpact Healthcare Systems for approximately $575 million.^[183]

In June 2024, the Detroit Free Press reported that Rite Aid was preparing to close all remaining stores in Michigan.^[184] Soon thereafter, the chain filed a WARN notice disclosing plans to close its Waterford, Michigan, distribution center in August 2024, laying off nearly 200 employees.^[185] By August, the company had closed or announced the closure of 38% of its stores, amounting to 778 locations,^[186] including all stores in Michigan and all but four in Ohio.^[187][188]

In September 2024, Rite Aid announced it was exiting bankruptcy, becoming a privately held company. Matt Schroeder, the former chief financial officer, was elevated to the CEO role.^{[14][189][190]}

Following a failed restructuring, on April 4, 2025, it was reported that Rite Aid was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time, while looking into other options such as a possible sale of some or all of its assets.^[191] On April 22, Rite Aid announced that it would be preparing to sell itself in multiple pieces as it had run low on cash. It was announced that the vast majority of stores were expected to be sold to the highest-paying bidders, whereas stores not sold would shut down.^[192]

On May 5, 2025, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in two years, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. Rite Aid stated that it would sell all of its assets and close all remaining pharmacies as part of the procedure, as it worked to overcome financial challenges such as debt, increased competition, and inflation. The company planned to eliminate all jobs after its failure to secure financing, as well as close or sell all of its remaining 1,200 locations.^[193] Rite Aid claimed that it was unable to keep store shelves stocked at many of its locations due to lenders walking away from the company.^[194] Later that month, it was reported that Rite Aid would close 115 stores in 10 states within weeks and that the last day to place bids for its pharmaceutical assets would be May 13, with auctions being held the next day. The last day to place bids for the company's remaining assets was June 13, with auctions being held on June 20.^[195] On May 13, Rite Aid announced that the last day to use gift cards, coupons, and rewards, as well as the last day for returns and exchanges, would be June 5.^[196] On May 14, Rite Aid announced more closures of stores.^[197]

On May 15, Rite Aid sold pharmacy prescriptions at over 1,000 of its locations to many retailers, such as CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertsons, and Kroger. CVS Pharmacy was identified as the largest bidder, buying prescription files from 600 locations in 15 states, as well as purchasing 64 Rite Aid stores in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.^[198][199] The sale was approved on May 21.^[200][201] On May 16, Rite Aid announced the closure of 27 more locations.^[202][203] By May 27, 360 locations were slated to close. Rite Aid stated the company was unable to find buyers for prescriptions at these locations.^[204] On May 29, Giant Eagle acquired pharmacy prescription files from 78 Rite Aid locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio.^[205] By June 6, more than 800 locations had been closed since October 2023.^[206] On June 9, another 230 stores were reported to be closing.^[207] On June 27, 2025, Rite Aid received court approval to sell its Thrifty PayLess and Thrifty Ice Cream subsidiaries to the privately held company Hilrod Holdings for $19.2 million. Hilrod Holdings is managed by Hilton Schlosberg and Rodney Sacks, top executives for Monster Beverage.^[208] On July 6, 2025, it was reported that 114 more stores would be closing, bringing the total count of closures over 1,000. As of July 2025, 1,184 Rite Aid stores that were open before the company's second bankruptcy have either closed or are conducting liquidation sales, leaving only 56 stores still operating; the fate of those stores has not been announced yet.^[209]

For the second quarter of 2022, Rite Aid reported basic^{[clarification needed]} and diluted earnings of -1.86 per share. This is significantly down from prior quarters' report of -0.24 per share.^[210]

Year	Revenue in thousands USD$	Net income in thousands USD$	Total assets in thousands USD$	Employees	Stores
2005	16,715,598	302,478	5,932,583	71,200	3,356
2006	17,163,044	1,273,006	6,988,371	70,200	3,323
2007	17,399,383	26,826	7,091,024	69,700	3,333
2008	24,326,846	−1,078,990	11,488,023	112,800	5,059
2009	26,289,268	−2,915,420	8,326,540	103,000	4,901
2010	25,669,117	−506,676	8,049,911	97,500	4,780
2011	25,214,907	−555,424	7,555,850	91,800	4,714
2012	26,121,222	−368,571	7,264,385	90,000	4,667
2013	25,392,263	118,105	6,985,038	89,000	4,623
2014	25,526,413	249,414	6,860,672	89,000	4,587
2015	26,528,377	2,109,173	8,777,425	89,000	4,570
2016	30,736,657	165,465	11,277,010	90,000	4,561
2017	32,845,073	4,053	11,593,752	88,000	4,536
2018	21,528,968	−349,532	8,989,327	60,800	2,550
2019	21,639,557	−666,954	7,591,367	53,100	2,464
2020	21,928,390	−469,219	9,452,369
2021	24,043,240	−100.07			2,451
2022	24,568,260	−538,478			2,229
2023	24,091,900	−749,936			2,102

^[211]

In early February 1996, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that Rite Aid violated its settlement agreement with the FTC by not selling stores in Maine and New Hampshire. The FTC had ordered the company to sell those stores in 1994 to resolve antitrust issues when the company acquired LaVerdiere's.^[212] In late February 1998, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Rite Aid $900,000 for failure to divest two drugstores in Maine and one in New Hampshire.^[213]

In June 1999, Rite Aid reported that it stocked more than 200 outdated condoms, baby formula, and infant medications from fifty California stores. In mid June 1999, Attorney General for the state of West Virginia Darrell V. McGraw Jr. prepared to file suit against Rite Aid for selling outdated baby formula, condoms, and other items in West Virginia's 132 stores. Rite Aid agreed to remove the outdated products after the WCHS-TV report for outdated items in Rite Aid and CVS stores.^[214]

In March 1982, Rite Aid filed an injunction against Jack M. Cantrell, owner of Cantrell's Pharmacy, contending he violated an agreement not to open a store within three miles and five years. Cantrell had sold a store to Rite Aid in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. In June 1983, at a hearing, Cantrell said his business was coming from the Parris Bridge Road area of Boiling Springs which was about 3.2 miles from Rite Aid. In July 1983, Judge Paul M. Moore ruled against Rite Aid.^[215]

In January 1988, Howlett noticed her three-year-old daughter, Katlyn, stared glassy-eyed towards her mother and fell to the floor. She checked on her 20-month twin boys, Jacob and Joshua, finding them still asleep after eight hours. Howlett had given her children all three flu-stricken children a dose of thorazine which had been prescribed by a doctor from Waterville hospital. A pharmacist at the Rite Aid where she had picked up the medicine for her children told her to go to Eastern Maine Medical Center immediately because he might have given the wrong dosage for her children. All three children were given intravenous therapy, electrocardiogram tests, and oxygen where Joshua seemed lifeless. A day later, Katlyn went in shock. Joshua needed follow-up care since he had irregular heartbeat. In April 1988, was his last EKG. In December 1988, Rite Aid agreed to pay Katlyn $44,189 with $9,322 going for medical and legal expenses, Jacob $31,592 with $6,502 going for medical and legal expenses, and Joshua $33, 314 with $8,354 going for medical and legal expenses. The money would not be paid until the children turned 18 except for the medical and legal expenses to be paid up front. In January 1989, Howlett filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid in Penobscot County Superior Court for unspecified damages for her emotional distress.^[216][217]

In February 1989, it was reported that the parents of Sohander Nijjar had sued Rite Aid in United States District Court for the District of Maine in Bangor claiming that a Rite Aid pharmacist in Van Buren, Maine gave a double-strength dose of sinemet, a drug for Parkinson's disease, which he had.^[217]

In February 1989, Randall Smith, who represented the Howletts, said he was working on another case of a misfilled prescription by a Rite Aid pharmacist. Smith claimed Joseph Paul of Old Orchard Beach, Maine was provided the antidepressant amitriptyline instead of his heart medication, atenolol, as his heart was fluttering.^[217]

In early April 1989, Wood County, Ohio prosecutors were helping the state pharmacy board investigate a bribe. Suddenly investigators switched prosecutors to in Cuyahoga County.^[9][218] In late April 1989, Martin Grass was arrested in Cleveland. Grass was released on a $100,000 bond.^[219] In May 1989, Rite Aid filed a defamation lawsuit against Melvin Wilczynski. Wilczynski, a state of Ohio pharmacy board member, who prosecutors claimed was the target of a bribe by president Grass. The suit claimed that Wilczynski misled state officials that Grass was bribing him. The attorneys for Rite Aid intended to have questions for Wilczynski in a deposition.^[220] In late June 1989, United States district judge Alvin Krenzler of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio blocked the deposition as well as Rite Aid's request that Wilczynski produce documents and his admissions to the acts he had done on behalf of Rite Aid pending the outcome of a criminal bribery charge against Grass.^[220]

In August 1989, Grass pleaded innocent to charges of bribery. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Jose Villanueva presided.^[221] In July 1990, George J. Moscarino, Grass' and Rite Aid's lawyer, argued that Wilczynski initiated negotiations with Rite Aid that ended when police burst into a Sheraton hotel room near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport after Grass wrote Wilczynski a check for more than $33,000 while prosecutors contended it was a bribe. Wilczynski had been in his second 4-year term on the Ohio pharmacy board. Rite Aid claimed the check was a buyout of a consulting contract Wilczynski had with Lane Drug.^{[30][222][223]} In July 1990, Moscarino said disputes between Rite Aid and the Ohio board arose who would have access to pharmacies at former Gray Drug stores. Rite Aid paid a $50,000 fine to settle the dispute in January 1989. Moscarino claimed the board issued warnings to Rite Aid for failing to do the proper paperwork in returning out-of-date drugs.^[224]

On November 8, 1995, Ronald S. Demorest, the manager of the Homewood, Pennsylvania location, was kidnapped and murdered by Eric Taylor and Ernest Jones. In March 1996, Demorest's parents filed a wrongful death suit against Rite Aid and PNC Bank over his death by failing to provide adequate security.^[225] Judge Bernard Scherer of Westmoreland County removed PNC Bank from the suit in November 1996. In October 1997, Judge Scherer dropped Rite Aid in the suit stating that the company was exempt from liability under worker's compensation rules.^[226]

In February 1995, Gabrielle Hundley, a minor the age of seven (7) years, was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prescribed ritalin by Dr. Shaw, a pediatric neurologist. Peggie Hundley, Gabrielle's mother, took the prescription to a Rite Aid pharmacy in Rock Hill, South Carolina to be filled. Howard Jones, a pharmacist, filled the prescription. Her mother gave some of the pills to Gabrielle's school with appropriate instructions to give her as a second (2nd) dose each day. Gabrielle had a seizure and lost consciousness. The seven year old girl was taken to an emergency room. Doctors there determined the prescription was filled with the wrong medication: six (6) milligram tablets of glynase. Gabrielle had a hypoglycemic coma. The doctors also determined that her brain cells, particularly the gray cells of the cerebral cortex, began using their own proteins and lipids as fuel to avoid necrosis. The result was permanent brain damage. The Hundley's asked original court trial to gave the sum of $5,000,000 actual damages from Jones and against Rite Aid in the sum of $10,000,000 punitive damages. The jury awarded against both defendants for actual damages in the sum of $20,000 and against Rite Aid for punitive damages in the sum of $1,000,000. Jones and Rite Aid appealed the decision. The South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the decision.^{[227][228][229]}

From 1997 to 1999, the Residents of Brandon Place and Thornbury neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa tried to reach out to Rite Aid to complain about the noise, the lighting, 18-wheelers parking near the fences, and flooding issues. In February 1999, attorney Delaine Mountain was hired by fifty-seven residents. When residents tried to put their homes on the market, the homes would not sell as they used to according to realtor Gail Cole.^[230][231]

In September 1999, Bill Ronci, owner of Family Discount Drugs and Trendi's Emporium, filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid. Rite Aid proposed to build a smaller dock in a different location so customers could use the drive-thru pharmacy. During construction of the Rite Aid store, the roof leaked into Trendi's Emporium damaging clothes and other merchandise.^[232] After three years, Ronci was still suing Rite Aid.^[233]

In November 2000, Rite Aid agreed to a settlement with its shareholders for $45 million in a class action lawsuit pending United States district courts in Philadelphia and Delaware in exchange for pursuing litigation against Grass, Noonan, Bergonzi, and outside auditor KPMG. It was funded by liability insurance and $155 million in stock.^[234]

In June 2003, the first payments from the settlement were sent out out to former and current shareholders of Rite Aid. The was one measure of the cost of the accounting mess that resulted in Grass pleading guilty to federal conspiracy charges. Rite Aid had paid $120 million on defense fees on the former executives.^[235]

On February 27, 1999, Rite Aid took deductions from its suppliers (Bayer AG, Bic Corp, The Dial Corporation, and M&M's of Mars Inc) just as its fiscal year was ending ranging from $45,000 to $100,000. Rite Aid cited damaged and outdated merchandise from acquired and remodeled stores. Frank Bergonzi stated, "Any deductions we've taken we believe are legitimate".^[236] Rite Aid had hired Processors Unlimited to handle the returned, damaged, and discontinued merchandise.^[237] In June 2002, the SEC announced thirty-seven criminal charges in a ninety-six page indictment against top Rite Aid executives for conspiracy to defraud, fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, and making false statements to the SEC. The indictment also accused Grass and Brown of tampering with witnesses and obstructing investigators. Prosecutors stated that on the night of June 10, 1999, Bergonzi had continued to direct employees to make unsupported entries in the accounting department. On June 12, 1999, an accounting department manager complained to Grass about Bergonzi. Bergonzi then reversed about a third the entries and replaced them with more unsupported entries.^{[9][238][239][240][241]} CEO Martin Grass and Franklin C. Brown had increased its losses over several years by $1.6 Billion. Rite Aid had reported originally $541 million in profit for fiscal years 1998 and 1999. In the first quarter of 2000, the company reported $670.5 Million in losses. In the indictment, prosecutors asserted that Grass and Brown agreed to pay more than $11 Million to settle a lawsuit filed by a former executive to silence him. Grass directed an officer to fabricate minutes of a meeting of its Health Committee so that Rite Aid got an interim line of credit under stock from its then-subsidiary PCS Health Systems Inc.^[242][243] Several executives served subsequent jail time, including Grass. Grass, who is the son of the founder, ultimately served six years in prison.^[244][245]

In January 2003, Rite Aid agreed with its insurers to pay $10.75 million settlement to the retirement fund for employees after a lawsuit alleging that the company breached its responsibility by allowing employees to buy company stock while Grass and Brown were falsifying the company's ledgers.^[246] On June 28, 2003, the federal judge presiding over Brown's case gave him until July 14 to change his plea of innocent or go to trial on the thirty-five count indictment. Eric S. Sorkin pleaded guilty on one count of obstruction of justice. Sorkin had misled and provided false information to the government. Sorkin faced a minimum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.^[247] In September 2003, Brown went on trial for the thirty-five indictment count.^[248]

In September 2002, Keith Saylor, a pharmacist in the Barbourville, Kentucky store alleged mishandling of drugs being shipped to his store. Some medications would arrive frozen or with frost on them. In the summer, patients brought back new inhalers that were almost empty which Saylor had surmised that the inhalers had been left in overheated trucks. Saylor would start to record his conversations with the truck drivers. Saylor went to management about the problems with the drugs. Saylor filed a lawsuit to protect his job after recording meetings with management. Rite Aid ended his employment stating that refusing an order and taping conversations were grounds for termination.^[249]

On July 25, 2004, Rite Aid agreed to pay $7 million to settle allegations that the company had submitted false prescription claims to United States government health insurance programs.^[250]

On July 14, 2022, Rite Aid inked a $10.5 million settlement with counties in Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio, which allowed the company to sit out the next wave of trials stemming from the opioid epidemic in the U.S., which were slated to begin against national pharmacy chains by 2023.^[251]

On March 14, 2023, the United States government sued Rite Aid for missing "red flags" as it illegally filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids from May 2014 to June 2019.^[252]

In July 2010, Rite Aid settled a $1 million lawsuit with the United States Department of Health and Human Services] and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a HIPAA case.^{[253][254][255][256]}

In the employee seating lawsuit (Hall v. Rite Aid Corporation, San Diego County Superior Court), the parties reached a class action settlement for $18 million plus institution of a two-year pilot seating program for front-end checkstands. On September 14, 2018, the Court granted preliminary approval of the settlement. On November 16, 2018, the court granted final approval of the settlement.^[257]

In September 2018, prosecutors charged James W. Pilsner, a former Rite Aid vice president of advertising and the co-owners of Nuvision Graphics, Larry Nuckols and Vance Taylor with kickbacks involving fraudulent or inflated invoices from 1995 to 2017. Pilsner was also charged with tax evasion.^[258][259] In October 2018, Pilsner, Nuckols, and Taylor pleaded guilty in a $5.7 million kick-back scheme defrauding Rite Aid.^{[260][261][262]} Pilsner was sentenced to two years in prison.^[258]

As reported by Rite Aid, the company is a defendant in the consolidated multidistrict litigation proceeding, In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Various plaintiffs (such as counties, cities, hospitals, and third-party payors) allege claims concerning the impacts of widespread opioid abuse against defendants along the pharmaceutical supply chain, including manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and retail pharmacy chains.^[257]

Rite Aid reported in January 2019 that the company was involved in two consumer class action lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that it overcharged customers' insurance companies for prescription drug purchases, resulting in overpayment of co-pays.^[257]

In July 2020, the Reuters news agency reported that during the 2010s Rite Aid had deployed facial recognition video surveillance systems and components from FaceFirst, DeepCam LLC, and other vendors at some retail locations in the United States.^[263] Cathy Langley, Rite Aid's vice president of asset protection, used the phrase "feature matching" to refer to the systems, a technical term related to the process of image feature extraction in the field of artificial intelligence for video surveillance, and said that usage of the systems resulted in less violence and organized crime in the company's stores, while former vice president of asset protection Bob Oberosler emphasized improved safety for staff and a reduced need for the involvement of law enforcement organizations.^[263] In a 2020 statement to Reuters in response to the reporting, Rite Aid said that it had ceased using the facial recognition software and switched off the cameras.^[263]

According to director Read Hayes of the National Retail Federation Loss Prevention Research Council, which in 2018 called facial recognition technology "a promising new tool" worth evaluating, Rite Aid's surveillance program was either the largest or one of the largest programs in retail.^[263] The Home Depot, Menards, Walmart, and 7-Eleven were among other US retailers also engaged in pilot programs or deployments of facial recognition technology at that time.^[263]

Of the stores examined by Reuters, those in communities where people of color made up the largest racial or ethnic group were three times as likely to have the technology installed,^[263] raising concerns related to the substantial history of racial segregation and racial profiling in the United States. Rite Aid said that the selection of locations was "data-driven", based on the theft histories of individual stores, local and national crime data, and site infrastructure.^[263]

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The Wellness+ card was Rite Aid's free shopping rewards card. Launched nationwide on April 18, 2010, it became a part of the American Express-backed Plenti rewards program in May 2015, in which customers would earn Plenti points with each purchase. Rite Aid returned the Wellness+ program on January 1, 2018, with Wellness+ BonusCash redeemable at Rite Aid stores, ahead of Plenti's shutdown and bankruptcy on July 10, 2018.

Rite Aid's rewards programs were ceased and closed on June 5, 2025, as part of its closure and second and final bankruptcy.^[196]

General Nutrition Centers (GNC) and Rite Aid formed a partnership in January 1999, adding GNC stores-within-stores at roughly 1,500 Rite Aid pharmacies.^[264][265] A partnership with Drugstore.com in June 1999 allowed customers of Rite Aid to place medical prescription orders online for same-day, in-store pickup.

Amazon announced in June 2019 that Amazon shoppers would be able to pick up their purchases at designated counters inside more than 100 Rite Aid stores across the US. The new service is called Counter^[266] and launched in the US after being used in the UK with the Next clothing chain and in Italy with Giunti Al Punto Librerie, Fermopoint and SisalPay stores.^[267]

In May 2022, Rite Aid partnered with Homeward, a rural home care startup. Under this partnership, Medicare-eligible customers have been directed to Homeward's clinical services and have access to Homeward mobile care units.^[268]

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