Popular Retail Chain Surprises California Shoppers By Closing 6 More Locations

The troubled retailer continues to surprise communities with more waves of closures. Over the past week, they’ve announced the closure of an additional 30 locations.

Since filing for bankruptcy in October 2023, Rite-Aid continues to trim the number of stores that make up its portfolio. Documents attached to the retail chain’s location show that they’ve added 66 locations to the list of closures since the beginning of April. The most recent uploads from April 9 and April 16 show that six more California locations have been marked for closure since the last time we reported on Rite-Aid. 

Rite-Aid’s Reputation Continues to Get Worse

A major part of Rite-Aid’s financial woes can be traced back to lawsuits for illegally filling prescriptions for opioid painkillers. Just before the company filed for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal estimated that Rite-Aid was over $3.3 billion in debt. A recent Bloomberg report shows that number may be closer to $8 billion.

Because so much of that debt is tied back to their opioid misconduct, the plan to pay the company’s new CEO $20 million when it emerges from bankruptcy is NOT sitting well with creditors. Bloomberg explains that in addition to the “success fee” that Jeffrey Stein will receive, he’ll also be compensated with a healthy salary of $300,000 a month. Stein’s only been in his position for seven months.

READ MORE: Discount Chain Announces Closure of ALL 255 of Its California Stores

The creditors that filed the complaint are disgusted to see him get so much more than what they say are the “tens of thousands of individuals and families, and thousands of communities, Hospitals, Public Schools, Native American Tribes and others that were harmed by the Debtor’s misconduct in fueling the opioid crisis - combined.” 

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Bloomberg notes that Stein’s salary would be more than four times higher than other executives helping companies navigate bankruptcy. 

Which Additional California Locations Are Closing?

With the addition of these six stores that were listed in a document uploaded on April 9, Rite-Aid will have axed 72 locations in California. After the new list of closures, you’ll see the 12 locations that were marked for closure on April 2.