By Mike Harris
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
It might have been picking up a prescription, grabbing a quick gift for a friend, maybe holiday greeting cards or even a scoop of Thrifty ice cream – all of that will officially end Aug. 25 when the Rite Aid store in Blue Jay closes for good.
“After Aug. 25, there will no longer be any Rite Aid stores in California,” a Rite Aid employee, who spoke off the record, told the Alpine Mountaineer.
Most of the old employees have already found new jobs or are seriously looking, the source said.
The goal now is to sell as quickly as possible all of the current inventory at the Blue Jay store. Many shelves are already empty, and parts of the store have been blocked off to shoppers. The ice cream counter in the front side of the store has a hand-written note taped on the glass that simply reads, “no more ice cream.”
On June 25, Rite Aid Corp. announced that it had entered into an asset purchase agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., whereby WBA would acquire 2,186 stores, related distribution assets and inventory from Rite Aid for an all-cash purchase price of $5.175 billion, on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Under the terms of the agreement, Rite Aid has the option to purchase generic drugs that are sourced through an affiliate of WBA at cost, substantially equivalent to Walgreens for a period of 10 years.
“While we believe that pursuing the merger with WBA was the right thing to do for our investors and customers, this new agreement provides a clear path forward and positions Rite Aid as a strong, independent, multi-regional drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager with a compelling footprint in key markets,” said Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley. “The transaction offers clear solutions to assist us in addressing our pharmacy margin challenges and allows us to significantly reduce debt, resulting in a strong balance sheet and improved financial flexibility moving forward.”
Standley continued, “I would like to thank our entire Rite Aid team for their extraordinary efforts during this process and their tremendous focus on taking great care of our customers and patients. We have an outstanding team of associates and, with their continued support, we will work together to deliver a great customer experience, improve our business and deliver value to all of our stakeholders.”
Rite Aid, earlier this year, sources say, had agreed to a new 10-year lease for the Blue Jay location. Apparently, Rite Aid corporate, which is located in Philadelphia, Penn., has decided it will find ways to get out of its many existing leases, not only in California but in other markets as well, without local help.
The store in Blue Jay Village, sources say, will not be empty long.
CVS Pharmacy in Lake Arrowhead is in a long-term lease deal for its store located near Stater Bros. However, the CVS store is having to service a lot of pharmacy business now coming over from former Rite Aid customers, and CVS currently is hiring additional help. Lines at the pharmacy can be long at times. Relocating to Blue Jay in the old Rite Aid store would add much needed space for its retail operation.
Rumors also suggest a list of businesses are looking at the location, and speculation is that some of the names include Walgreens or even Hobby Lobby.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader serving millions of customers and patients every day, with a 175-year heritage of caring for communities. WBA employs approximately 312,000 people, with a presence in eight countries and consumer brands including Walgreens, Boots, Duane Reade, No7 Beauty Company and Benavides.
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