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Rite Aid closing stores in Central Pa. and Lehigh Valley
Rite Aid retail stores in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley are closing.
Stores in Allentown, Bethlehem, Hanover, and Mechanicsburg are among the 27 Rite Aid locations in Pennsylvania shutting down as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A total of 154 Rite Aid stores are closing nationally, many of them in Pennsylvania, New York, and California.
The locations were revealed in a recent court filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. The filing listed $8.6 billion in total debts and $7.6 billion in assets.
A total of 40 Rite Aid stores are closing in its home state of Pennsylvania. Multiple store closures are also planned in New York, Michigan, and California.
Rite Aid operates some 2,100 stores in the U.S., a sharp decrease from the 4,600 it operated in 2013. In 2017, Walgreens purchased nearly 2,000 Rite Aid locations for $4.38 billion. Walgreens operates 9,000 stores across the country.
Rite Aid has not disclosed when each store will close. The company employs 45,000 people at more than 2,000 locations in 17 states. Rite Aid, which was founded in 1962, will stay open for business during the bankruptcy.
Declining sales and legal battles resulting from opioid-related lawsuits caused Rite Aid to declare bankruptcy. The company has reportedly received $3.45 billion in new financing from its lenders to help it through the Chapter 11 process.
