Rite Aid, With 105 Stores In NJ, Prepares For Bankruptcy: Reports

NEW JERSEY — Amid looming opioid lawsuits and a $3.3 billion debt load, Rite Aid appears to be quietly closing stores in New Jersey as reports say the pharmacy chain could be headed for bankruptcy.

The company is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to address more than 1,000 state and federal lawsuits it faces for allegedly contributing to the opioid epidemic, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Rite Aid reported a net loss of $307 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to last year’s first quarter net loss of $110.2 million.

The pharmaceutical retailer has 105 stores in New Jersey. Rite Aid has not publicly addressed the bankruptcy filing reports, and sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg the company is still finalizing its plans.

The filing is expected to include the closure of more than 400 of its more than 2,200 stores, Yahoo Finance reported.

The company has also not filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the state, which is required in the case of a mass closure and/or mass layoff, as of Sept. 13.

Patch has been able to confirm two Rite Aids closing in the state, as of Wednesday at noon: The Morristown location was scheduled to close down Sept. 12, and a store in Toms River is set to shut its doors Sept. 25.

According to the company, prior to the shutdown, they will review each neighborhood to ensure that consumers have access to health services, whether at Rite Aid or a neighboring pharmacy, and will make every effort to smoothly transfer their prescriptions so that services are not disturbed.

Rite Aid management also stated that they make every effort to move associates to other Rite Aid sites.

The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Rite Aid in May, claiming that the company violated the Controlled Substances Act by repeatedly filling prescriptions “with obvious red flags” and intentionally deleting notes about suspicious prescribers.

Rite Aid has more than 2,200 pharmacies in 17 states.