The Rite Aid at 741 Columbus Avenue is expected to close by the end of January.
The Rite Aid on the corner of West 97th Street and Columbus Avenue is expected to close at the end of the month, an employee confirmed on Wednesday, January 4. This is the last Rite Aid on the Upper West Side, as its other location at 210-20 Amsterdam Avenue between West 69th and 70th streets closed in November 2021.
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A Rite Aid employee told us their store was having the same issues as others in the city: increased rents, shoplifting and competition. The employee added that they expect all Manhattan Rite Aids to close in the relatively near future.
The store’s inventory is starting to show signs of depletion. The American Greetings card section still has Thanksgiving signage posted, while the back-corner section for paper towels and toilet paper is almost empty with but one 15-pack of Scott paper towels remaining. School supplies and beauty products like shampoo and conditioner are also starting to run low.
Rite Aid executives have been vocal about their displeasure regarding out-of-control shoplifting hurting their bottom line. In September, the New York Post reported that Rite Aid’s CEO said they had already begun “shrinking [their] footprint” in New York City as they proceeded with a plan to close dozens of less profitable stores.
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In December, Forbes reported that Rite Aid had quarterly losses of more than $67 million, partly due to reduced COVID-19 vaccine and testing revenue. Rite Aid was also expecting greater losses going into 2023 as it looked to close more stores. The publication went on to detail that the company “isn’t disclosing how many more stores could close but executives said it wouldn’t be as large as the number closed [in 2022].” The drugstore closed roughly 145 unprofitable stores last year.
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“The reality is, we have too many retail pharmacy locations in the United States,” Adam Fein, CEO of Drug Channels Institute, told Curbed in a February 2022 interview. “I think this is only the beginning of a restructuring of the entire outlet industry for retail stores.” Fein felt a big merger could be coming and pointed out that Walgreens already bought nearly 2,000 stores from Rite Aid in 2018.
Rite Aid’s website states they currently have 10 stores in Manhattan.
Once Rite Aid leaves Manhattan, shoplifters will simply have to go elsewhere to shoplift from Rite Aid.
At what point do they stop running away?
When laws start getting enforced & consequences start getting handed out for crimes committed. Companies are in business to make money not lose it. Voters had a chance to change this two times (NYC Mayor & Governor election) and chose not to. Do not get angry with the business, get angry with your elected officials that allow it to go on and vote them out of office.
Isn’t the plan to close ALL Rite Aid eventually?..I believe so…
The notion that shoplifting is what drove a multimillion corportation off multimillion dollar real estate is absurd on its face. This is the result of a dumb, overexapansionist approach by management.
Actually spoke with the Manager this AM (Fri, 1/6) and another problem is Owner of apartment building above store sold the real estate and the rent could not be negotiated down. The constant shoplifting certainly didn’t help…
The store’s lease is ending in March 2023
Am so sad – am in there quite often and there are many older people in the neighborhood who will have to go much farther to shop now
Duane Reade was always a store where you could find a bargain and get all your shopping done at a very fair price. They carried a wide range of brands and were great. When Walgreen’s first came to the city they were another great place to shop at fair prices. Then prices slowly started to rise. Then Walgreens went premium. Then they bought Duane Reade and gentrified that. Now both are too expensive so I rarely shop in either. CVS, which I always considered expensive, is now less so than Walgreen’s/Duane Reade. I go to Rite Aid when I am near Grand Central Station. I hope they don’t close that store.
Would it be possible to buzz people OUT of a store?..I believe it happens frequently on the UES..
This chain is estimable in providing variety, good inventory, multi use facility that usually includes a pharmacy, nice staff and importantly approximately 15% to 25% discounts on many good quality repeat buy items, spring water, soup, staples, the lot. Very regrettable development especially for the WEF Globalist central planner midwit fanatics with visions of 15-minute-cities across the globe. Lets thankk the past and now present city administration. I didn’t vote for a single one now in office. How many of ‘you’ did? Let’s try get thru the winter into spring. Peace.
I hope the employees can find a job, is the site moving, are you taking your workers with you? What is the Upper West side going to do without a Professional Medical Advisor, there are a lot of people in that area, especially thee Elderly, young mothers and children. Hopefully the young men and the men are healthy enough to take care of their families. Maybe you should advise them to enroll in a University that gives them a better idea what is going on with our Medical Professionals. They seem scant.