Pharmacy Chain with Hundreds of NJ, PA Stores Files for Bankruptcy Again

Published reports say a national pharmacy chain with hundreds of stores across New Jersey and Pennsylvania has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year.

News Snapshot

• The company said it would keep its stores open throughout this latest bankruptcy process
• Customers will still have access to prescriptions in-stores and online
• Jobs at its corporate offices in Pennsylvania will be slashed

Brutal Retail Business Keeps Getting Worse

Sadly, this chain remains on a list of retailers either in serious financial trouble or that have already completely faded into history.

Just since Thanksgiving we have seen the following headlines:

Party City

The days of running into Party City for birthday balloons has ended.

Party City had 26 stores in New Jersey and 700 across the nation.

Joann

Crafters won't be able to run into a Joann store for fabric and other materials much longer. That chain is in the process of closing all of its stores across the country.

Macy's

Macy's announced it would be closing 66 stores as they try to rebound from sluggish sales.

In New Jersey, only the Macy's Backstage store in East Orange closed. In Philadelphia, their historic Center City store shut down for good.

Kohl's

Much like Macy's, Kohl's is also closing multiple underperforming stores nationwide. Kohl's closed two stores in our area — East Windsor, NJ, and Pottstown, PA.

• READ MORE: Big Changes Coming Soon to These New Jersey Walmart Stores

More Financial Trouble for Rite Aid

Now, according to Bloomberg, Rite Aid was unable to secure additional funding from lenders to continue operating the business, so the company has filed for bankruptcy.

The chain first filed Chapter 11 in October 2023. When it emerged last September, it had closed over 800 stores across the country and shed $2 billion in debt.

Now just eight months later, Rite Aid finds itself in another deep financial hole.

That Bloomberg report indicated that all Rite Aid stores will either close or be sold and all of their distribution centers will also shut down.

For the immediate future, Rite Aid customers will still be able to access their prescriptions in stores and online.

• READ MORE: TD Bank Closing 36 Branches in 2025 — 6 in New Jersey Affected

Rite Aid has 61 stores in New Jersey, including locations in Bridgeton, Deptford, Jackson Township, Edison, and Clinton.

Over in Pennsylvania, their footprint is much larger, with nearly 350 stores. Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are home to about 30 locations.

To put Rite Aid's regional size in perspective, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, CVS has about 800 stores while Walgreens has about 300.