Rite Aid is closing stores and filing for bankruptcy primarily due to persistent financial difficulties, including mounting debt, declining sales, and increased competition in the retail pharmacy sector. The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice within two years, with the most recent filing in 2025 aimed at restructuring its business and debts. Factors contributing to these closures include a rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscape, inventory shortages, suboptimal lease burdens, and legal challenges related to the opioid crisis. Rite Aid is pursuing either the sale or permanent closure of nearly all its stores, totaling over 1,000 closures out of about 1,200 locations, which marks an exit from much of its market presence. These closures have also raised concerns about reduced access to pharmacies in affected communities.
