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96-469: In 1996, Rite Aid acquired 1,000 West Coast stores from Thrifty PayLess Holdings, creating a chain with over 3,500 drug stores. Thrifty PayLess, Inc. remained an active subsidiary of Rite Aid (owning stores purchased from Thrifty PayLess), as shown in the company's October 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. In 1932, L.J. Skaggs opened Payless Drug Stores in Tacoma, Washington , which soon expanded across

192-583: A Las Vegas location in 1952. In 1959, the chain expanded into the Pacific Northwest with a store in Eugene, Oregon . Store grand opening events were always a large spectacle, with politicians as well as movie and television celebrities involved in the ceremonies. Actor Errol Flynn participated in the 1941 opening of the South Pasadena store. A neon Thrifty Drug Store sign is visible in

288-422: A Los Angeles drug wholesaler. By 1929, the brothers opened their own Los Angeles retail outlets under the name Thrifty Cut Rate . The first store was located at 412 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, just across the street from the original Broadway Department Store . After opening five additional downtown area stores, Thrifty opened their seventh store in the then recently completed Pellissier Building in

384-776: A public company in 1968. Rite Aid was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RAD, and ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 in 2022. In October 2023, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , due to a large debt load and thousands of lawsuits alleging involvement in the opioid crisis . Alex Grass founded the Rite Aid chain in Scranton , Pennsylvania , in September 1962, after marrying into Harrisburg Pennsylvania's Lehrman family in

480-603: A $ 10.5 million settlement with counties in Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio, which allowed the company to sit out the next wave of trials stemming from the opioid epidemic in the U.S., which were slated to begin against national pharmacy chains by 2023. On March 14, 2023, the United States government sued Rite Aid for missing "red flags" as it illegally filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids from May 2014 to June 2019. In

576-553: A Hong Kong–based married couple, the owners of one of Akron's suppliers. At the time of the sale, the chain was down to 21 stores. The new owners' son, City of Industry–based Francis Chan was appointed chairman and chief executive officer. In July 1983, a new store was opened at the Anaheim Plaza Shopping Center, the fifth store in Orange County and would be the final store that would be opened by

672-567: A Michigan-based pharmacy chain. One year later, Rite Aid acquired Perry, entering Metro Detroit for the first time, and expanding its presence in Michigan even further. In 1996, Rite Aid acquired Thrifty PayLess , a 1,000-store West Coast chain. The acquisition of Thrifty PayLess included the Northwest -based Bi-Mart membership discount stores, which was sold off in 1998. Acquisitions of Harco, Inc. and K&B , Inc. brought Rite Aid into

768-668: A chain of "decorator-style department stores". Women's Wear Daily called the chain a "serendipity" department store. In 1947, Bernard Field and Hyman Fink opened the Akron Army & Navy Stores on Sunset Blvd. between Virgil Place and Fountain Avenue by selling mostly army surplus goods. Their first newspaper ad appeared in the October 31, 1947, issue of the Hollywood Citizen-News , and their first magazine ad

864-561: A fire that caused major damage to their warehouse that was adjacent to their store at 4400 Sunset Blvd. Besides selling to walk-in customers at their store, Akron was selling nationwide via mail order through ads placed in Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines during the 1950s. In 1952 or 1953, the company was renamed The Akron . By June 1953, ads were beginning to appear in the Los Angeles Times in which

960-506: A fully owned subsidiary in the middle of the country called Columbus . After having trouble obtaining bank loans, The Akron announced in August 1975 that it had sold an 80% stake in the company to Jack A. Levin & Associates, which happened to be the company's largest supplier, while the three officers retained the remaining 20%. Jack Levin became chairman and CEO while Hadel was retained as president. Levin eventually increased his share in

1056-481: A hundred brands before reselecting Thrifty as its supplier and winning the Orange County Register 's 2010 Best Ice Cream contest. Thrifty makes its ice cream using a flash-freeze technique in the manufacturing process to minimize the size of ice crystals. The final product is frozen at −60 degrees for at least a day before leaving the factory. Thrifty ice cream has won numerous gold medals at

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1152-610: A lawsuit from Rite Aid investors accusing them that their executives misled them about their bid to acquire Rite Aid back in 2017. On November 16, Rite Aid sued the United States Department of Justice in an effort to block an opioid lawsuit that accused the company of ignoring warnings and falsely filed thousands of prescriptions for addictive opioid medications. On November 21, a bankruptcy judge ordered Rite Aid to fully reorganize its operations by March 1, 2024. Rite Aid warned that if it failed to fully reorganize by

1248-496: A new program to respond to consumer complaints. On August 23, 2006, The Wall Street Journal announced that Rite Aid would acquire Brooks Eckerd, with 1,858 Eckerd Pharmacy and Brooks Pharmacy stores, from the Quebec -based Jean Coutu Group for US$ 3.4 billion. The company's shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger on January 18, 2007, and the deal closed on June 4 of that year. Following an antitrust review , Rite Aid

1344-417: A nickel. The price increased to $ 0.10 by 1976, to $ 0.15 by 1981, to $ 0.35 by 1991, to $ 1.29 by 2010, to $ 1.69 by 2011, to $ 1.79 by 2013, and to $ 1.99 by 2018. For many decades, Thrifty Drug Stores was using the extremely low price that it was charging customers for a single scoop of ice cream that was usually eaten inside the store as a loss leader to entice those customers to bring their entire families into

1440-410: A practice continued by Rite Aid to this day. Many stores acquired from Brooks Eckerd had previously been Rite Aid locations, as Rite Aid had sold some stores to JCPenney's Thrift Drug chain in the mid-1990s (shortly before JCPenney's acquisition of Eckerd), and had also sold all of its Massachusetts stores to Brooks in 1995. On January 4, 2008, Rite Aid announced the closure of all 28 of its stores in

1536-669: A privately held company. Matt Schroeder, the former CFO, was elevated to the CEO role. For the second quarter of 2022, Rite Aid reported basic and diluted earnings of -1.86 per share. This is significantly down from prior quarters' report of -0.24 per share. in thousands USD$ in thousands USD$ in thousands USD$ In 2002, the SEC announced criminal charges against top Rite Aid executives for accounting fraud. Several executives served subsequent jail time, including CEO Martin Grass. Grass, who

1632-589: A reduced need for the involvement of law enforcement organizations . In a 2020 statement to Reuters in response to the reporting, Rite Aid said that it had ceased using the facial recognition software and switched off the cameras. According to director Read Hayes of the National Retail Federation Loss Prevention Research Council, which in 2018 called facial recognition technology "a promising new tool" worth evaluating, Rite Aid's surveillance program

1728-474: A sale to Walgreens. Rite Aid formerly had a presence in the Columbus, Ohio market, but has since sold off its stores there to CVS. Founder Alex Grass died of cancer on August 27, 2009. In June 2010, John Standley was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to chief executive officer, with former CEO Mary Sammons retaining her position as chairperson; Ken Martindale, previously co-president of Pathmark ,

1824-484: A sales milestone of $ 1 billion. A 420-store acquisition along the east coast expanded Rite Aid's holdings beyond 2,000 locations. A large number of acquisitions brought the chain to the state of Michigan in 1984. These were of Grand Rapids, Michigan -based Muir Drug and Remes Drug, along with Lippert Pharmacy of Lowell and Herrlich Drug of Flint ; one year later, Rite Aid opened stores in Lansing, Michigan through

1920-511: A sharp fall in net income as Rite Aid began the integration process, and The New York Times reported that Rite Aid saw record-breaking losses that year. Rite Aid shares fell over 75% between September 2007 and September 2008, closing at a low of $ 0.98 on September 11, 2008, and subsequently dropping to $ 0.20 on March 6, 2009. Similar to what CVS experienced in the Chicago metropolitan area after its purchase of Albertsons drug store chains,

2016-604: A steady supply of high-quality ice cream at a low price. To meet the demand created by their new stores, the Boruns decided in 1940 to produce their own ice cream by purchasing Borden Ice Cream Company 's existing Hollywood factory for $ 250,000 (~$ 4.26 million in 2023). Thrifty replaced the Hollywood plant in 1976 with a larger, 20,000-square-foot facility located on 3 acres in El Monte, California . Intended to supply

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2112-401: A total of 24 gold medals at the L.A. County Fair, more than any other competitor. Many recipes have remained unchanged for over 50 years, and real pieces of fruit and cookie are used along with Real California Milk . Thrifty ice cream contains 10.25% butterfat , compared to 12–16% butterfat in premium rivals costing twice as much. As recently as 1974, a single scoop could be purchased for just

2208-519: Is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania , by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. It is the third-largest drugstore chain in the United States, with nearly 1,300 stores in 16 U.S. states, primarily on the East and West coasts. After several years of growth, Rite Aid adopted its current name and debuted as

2304-478: Is the son of the founder, ultimately served six years in prison. In October 2018, a former Rite Aid vice president of advertising and two co-owners of Nuvision Graphics Inc. pleaded guilty to in a $ 5.7 million kick-back scheme defrauding Rite Aid. On July 25, 2004, Rite Aid agreed to pay $ 7 million to settle allegations that the company had submitted false prescription claims to United States government health insurance programs. On July 14, 2022, Rite Aid inked

2400-533: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was dissatisfied with the proposal, and requested the sale of 650 additional stores. In January 2017, Rite Aid and Walgreens further delayed the merger's closing to July, and reduced the sale price to approximately $ 6.8 billion. 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East , a labor union representing 6,000 Rite Aid employees, announced its opposition to the merger on January 31. On June 29, 2017, Walgreens announced

2496-589: The Gulf Coast area. In the 1990s, Rite Aid partnered with Carl Paladino 's Ellicott Development Co. to expand the company's presence in upstate New York . In the late 1990s, Rite Aid performed poorly, and its stock dropped precipitously from $ 30 to $ 4.40. At this time, Mary Sammons , of Fred Meyer , was tapped by Leonard Green , of Leonard Green & Partners to become President/COO. She went on to become CEO in 2003. In July 2001, Rite Aid agreed to improve its pharmacy complaint process by implementing

2592-802: The Las Vegas Valley , and the sale of patient prescription files from the market to Walgreens . The company said Las Vegas was a non-core market that had not been contributing to overall results, and it had not opened a new store there since 1999. One Nevada store would remain open in Gardnerville , near the California border, where Rite Aid at the time had more than 600 stores. On February 5, 2009, Rite Aid announced that it would terminate operations of seven Rite Aid stores in San Francisco, along with five stores in eastern Idaho through

2688-554: The Los Angeles County Fair and California State Fair since 1948. Reporting on Thrifty's thirteenth consecutive gold at both fairs in 1961, the Torrance Herald explained that ice cream at these "two widely acclaimed competitions" is judged on flavor, body, texture, sanitation, color, and packaging. Thrifty has won gold medals at the L.A. County Fair every year since 1952. In 1988, Thrifty ice cream received

2784-468: The Los Angeles Times , Akron was selling typewriters, watches, bunk beds, camping gear, power tools, and house paint. Their September 1951 ad in Popular Mechanics was for hand-held power tools. Their February 1952 ad in Popular Science offered telescopes and microscopes. The last mention as the Akron Army & Navy Store occurred in an April 1952 article in the Los Angeles Times describing

2880-588: The Mid-Wilshire district , on Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue , in 1931. This was their first store outside of downtown , and it was quickly followed by several new stores within a few miles of downtown. By 1942, Thrifty Drug Stores operated 58 stores. By the time their 100th store opened in Studio City in 1950, Thrifty ranged as far north as Santa Rosa, California , and as far south as San Diego . Thrifty soon expanded outside California, opening

2976-712: The State of Mexico . There are plans to expand throughout Mexico via the sale of additional franchises. All Thrifty ice cream sold in Mexico is produced by the El Monte, California, plant. In October 2015, Walgreens announced that it will acquire Rite Aid, but said that it had not yet made a decision whether it would continue to carry any product line that is sold by Rite Aid, which is not currently distributed by Walgreens. Thrifty Ice Cream customers were concerned that Walgreens would discontinue carrying their beloved ice cream. After

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3072-681: The Times . The ad listed the addresses for nine stores in the Southern California marketing area, including its first location in Ventura County . In 1966, 20,000 square feet was added to the two year-old West Los Angeles store to handle the increase of business. Later in the same year, a store was opened at the Northpoint Shopping Center in San Francisco. According to a 1966 article in the Times , this

3168-646: The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey . The next day, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and commenced trading over-the-counter. The company said in a statement it had secured $ 3.5 billion in financing and debt reduction agreements from lenders to keep the company afloat through its bankruptcy. Around 500 stores will still shutter throughout the bankruptcy procedure throughout

3264-459: The Eckerd deal, since Eckerd had built newer, more modern stores with drive-through pharmacies and larger space under ownership of both JCPenney and Jean Coutu Group ; and the "moved to" sites were converted Eckerds. Employees at the closed stores were transferred to nearby locations, so no layoffs were necessary. As a former subsidiary of JCPenney, Eckerd accepted JCPenney's store credit card,

3360-666: The Los Angeles area in 1981. In 1983, Thrifty acquired 50% ownership in Trak and also opened several of the auto parts stores in the Los Angeles area, In Washington State, Thrifty went by the name of Giant T since the Thrifty name was in use by another chain of drug stores. The name was later changed to Thrifty in 1984. Thrifty Corp. itself was acquired by Pacific Lighting , the parent of Southern California Gas , in 1986. In 1988, Thrifty acquired Pay 'n Save and Bi-Mart . Following

3456-765: The Southwest US, Mexico, Latin America, and the Middle East. In May 2018, Bon Suisse bought close to 800,000 gallons of Thrifty ice cream a year to redistribute through restaurants, hotels, ice cream dipping stations, grocery stores and a few prisons located in California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. In May 2014, Helados Thrifty, the licensed purveyor in Mexico, had 184 locations in the northern and central Mexican states of Baja California , Baja California Sur , Sonora , Sinaloa , Jalisco , Colima , Nayarit , and

3552-586: The Times. The ad listed the addresses for 19 stores in the Southern California marketing area. A hint that the firm was beginning to have cash flow problems occurred when it was announced that the firm had sold the real estate for three of its stores that it had owned in a 1972 sale leaseback scheme for its stores in Pasadena, Orange and Santa Clara (in the San Francisco Bay area). As recorded in

3648-497: The United States, reportedly controlling 46% of the market. Walgreens planned to keep the Rite Aid name on existing stores if the deal went through, though the company's long-term plans for the Rite Aid name were unknown. Most analysts expected that the merger would close by the end of 2016; it was initially delayed by regulatory review. It was announced on December 21, 2016, that that to address antitrust concerns, Rite Aid would sell 865 stores to Fred's for $ 950 million, though

3744-486: The United States. Cathy Langley, Rite Aid's vice president of asset protection, used the phrase "feature matching" to refer to the systems, a technical term related to the process of image feature extraction in the field of artificial intelligence for video surveillance , and said that usage of the systems resulted in less violence and organized crime in the company's stores, while former vice president of asset protection Bob Oberosler emphasized improved safety for staff and

3840-535: The Walgreens deal was not approved by regulators, it was announced on Feb. 20, 2018 that Albertsons and Rite Aid will merge. In May 2018, Albertsons announced that it plans to sell the Thrifty branded ice cream at its groceries stores (such as Vons and Safeway ), but the announcement left many questions unanswered, such as would it keep the Thrifty manufacturing facility in El Monte, would it continue to use its current ice cream manufacturing recipes, would it keep

3936-432: The acquisition of State Vitamin. Rite Aid expanded further into Ohio in 1987 through the acquisition of Cleveland -based Gray Drug . Among the companies acquired was Baltimore, Maryland 's Read's Drug Store . On April 10, 1989, Peoples Drug 's 114 unit Lane Drug of Ohio was purchased by Rite Aid. Rite Aid acquired twenty-four Hook's Drug Stores stores in 1994, selling nine of those stores to Perry Drug Stores ,

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4032-414: The acquisition with reports of heavy staff turnover and computer system glitches. In 2022, Rite Aid relocated its headquarters from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia . As of fiscal year 2022, Pennsylvania , with 494 stores, is home to the largest number of Rite Aid locations, followed by California and New York , with 487 and 281 respectively. On August 25, 2023, Rite Aid announced that it

4128-1342: The acquisition, all Thrifty stores in Washington state were renamed to Pay 'n Save. Thrifty closed all their Arizona stores in 1992 and withdrew from the state. The Thrifty name and logo live on through Thrifty Ice Cream , sold in West Coast Rite Aid locations and various ice cream shops in the southwestern United States and over 200 across Mexico. Rite Aid preserved the Thrifty Ice Cream brand because it won numerous awards in its history, and remained well known for its affordable prices, quirky flavors, and iconic cylinder-shaped scoops. Popular Thrifty flavors include longtime hits Chocolate Malted Krunch, Butter Pecan, Medieval Madness, Mint 'N Chip, and Rocky Road, as well as more recent introductions such as Circus Animal Cookies, made with real Mother's Cookies . Thrifty Ice Cream counters located within Rite Aid stores sell hand-scooped ice cream in single-, double- or triple-scoop servings on sugar, cake, or waffle cones . The ice cream also comes pre-packaged in 1.75-quart (56 oz) "sqrounder" cartons ("kind of square, kind of round") and 1-pint cartons. Thrifty traditionally sold packaged ice cream by

4224-494: The background of a scene from the 1954 Judy Garland version of A Star Is Born . During the 1950s, a Thrifty commercial jingle played on numerous radio stations in Southern California: Save a nickel, save a dime. Save at Thrifty every time. Save a dollar and much more, at your Thrifty Drug Store! Until the early 1980s, every Thrifty store featured a self-service tube tester , usually located near

4320-410: The cancellation of the merger. Walgreens instead offered to purchase 2,186 Rite Aid stores, less than half of the chain, for $ 5.18 billion (plus a $ 325 million cancellation penalty), a deal which would have seen Rite Aid effectively exit the southeastern United States . Further negotiations led to a fourth revised deal, in which Walgreens would purchase 1,932 Rite Aid locations for $ 4.38 billion, which

4416-454: The chain filed a WARN notice disclosing plans to close its Waterford, Michigan distribution center in August 2024, laying off nearly 200 employees. By August, the company had closed or announced the closure of 38% of its stores, amounting to 778 locations, including all stores in Michigan and all but four in Ohio . In September 2024, Rite Aid announced it was exiting bankruptcy, and became

4512-556: The chain. At the time of this store opening, there were 20 stores from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Apparently, all stores north of Santa Barbara had been closed by this time. The chain was in dire straits by 1984 and the Chan family decided that they needed to close most of the stores with the goal of saving the remainder. In October 1984, Akron negotiated with Circuit City to sell the leases for up to 17 of its 20 stores. In February 1985, Akron told its employees, many of whom had been with

4608-531: The closure of 19 additional stores nationwide. On December 21, Rite Aid cancelled an auction for its Elixir division after no other higher bids came in, and would sell the insurance-related company to MedImpact Healthcare Systems for approximately $ 575 million. In June 2024, the Detroit Free Press reported that Rite Aid was preparing to close all remaining stores in Michigan . Soon thereafter,

4704-543: The company announced grandiose plans of adding 9 stores in new locations such as San Francisco, San Diego, and even out-of-state to their then current 18 locations. Many of these additions failed to materialize. Two stores opened later 1971 at Mission Valley and La Mesa in the San Diego metropolitan area . An ad in the October 1971 issue of the Times that announced the opening of the San Diego stores also announced

4800-458: The company by closing unprofitable stores and changing the product mix. Clothing was eliminated. Instead of being known as the "serendipity" store in which the customer does not know what the store may carry on any particular visit, Akron tried to carry consistent goods that a customer could depend on being in the store during their next visit. The merchandise were also upgraded and made more similar to that carried by Pier 1. In May 1980, Akron sold

4896-481: The company for more than 20 years, to take a 50% cut and give up most of their fringe benefits in an attempt to keep the company operating. Many of the stores were closed by Spring 1985. There is no record of any stores remaining open beyond this point. Beginning in November 1985, Circuit City entered Southern California by opening stores at 12 former Akron locations in addition to 3 non-Akron locations. Columbus

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4992-576: The company is a defendant in the consolidated multidistrict litigation proceeding, In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Various plaintiffs (such as counties, cities, hospitals, and third-party payors) allege claims concerning the impacts of widespread opioid abuse against defendants along the pharmaceutical supply chain, including manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and retail pharmacy chains. As reported by Rite Aid,

5088-713: The company is involved in two consumer class action lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that it has overcharged customers' insurance companies for prescription drug purchases, resulting in overpayment of co-pays. In July 2020, the Reuters news agency reported that during the 2010s Rite Aid had deployed facial recognition video surveillance systems and components from FaceFirst, DeepCam LLC, and other vendors at some retail locations in

5184-645: The company to 90%. Eight months later in April 1976, Levin sold a 40% interest in the company to Thrifty Drug Stores Company, Inc. and a 10% interest to Richard Ralphs, former CEO of Ralphs Grocery Company . Ralphs replaced Levin as chairman and CEO. A year later in March 1977, Thrifty increased their stake in Akron to 90% by purchasing the remaining 40% from Levin, 5% from president Richard Hadel, and 5% from Hadel's ex-wife. The only shares that Thrifty did not own at this time

5280-546: The company to receive approximately $ 200 million. That same day, Rite Aid announced that they have settled with the Federal Trade Commission over their AI-powered facial recognition technology, agreeing to a 5-year ban to forbid using facial recognition technology in all of their stores after being accused of misusing the system for falsely identifying shoppers of race and color. The system was originally supposed to be used for shoppers that are likely involved in some sort of criminal related activity. In addition, Rite Aid announced

5376-454: The cosmetics display case. Vacuum tubes were still used in a wide variety of consumer electronics such as TVs and radios, and the local Thrifty store was a convenient place to test them and purchase replacements. Thrifty published a brochure helping customers diagnose which tubes might be responsible for various TV malfunctions. The brochure also provided numbered stickers to aid consumers in reinstalling working tubes in their correct sockets. In

5472-430: The deadline, the company could face liquidation. On November 29, Rite Aid announced the closure of 30 additional stores that would close by December 2023. On December 5, Rite Aid announced that 79 stores would be put up for sale. On December 19, Rite Aid agreed to a bankruptcy mediation with its opioid victims and creditors that would be supervised by the court. Rite Aid also received a loan approval that would allow for

5568-780: The deal gave Rite Aid stores that were too close to each other. In many situations, especially in Pennsylvania, where both chains were dominant and had roots in the Commonwealth (Rite Aid originated in Scranton; Eckerd began in Erie , while Thrift Drug was popular in the Pittsburgh area), there were, in some cases, neighboring Rite Aid stores. However, in March 2008, some of these overlapping stores were closed. Most of these stores that closed were pre-existing Rite Aids from before

5664-506: The distribution of Thrifty Ice Cream in 48-ounce pre-packaged containers to select Rite Aid stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania on a trial basis starting in July. The October 2023 Rite-Aid Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing resulted in the closure of 31 Rite Aid locations in California that had Thrifty Ice Cream scoop counters. Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation

5760-399: The early 1950s. The first store was called Thrift D Discount Center. The store expanded into five additional states in 1965 and went public as Rite Aid in 1968. It moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1970. Ten years after its first store opened, Rite Aid operated 267 locations in 10 states. In 1981, Rite Aid became the third-largest retail drugstore chain in the country. 1983 marked

5856-438: The early 1970s, Thrifty's parent began to diversify outside the drug store industry through the acquisition of Big 5 Sporting Goods , a sporting goods chain, in 1972. Thrifty expanded into general merchandising by the gradual acquisition of The Akron chain, 40% in 1976, increasing to 90% the following year, and eventually to 100%. Thrifty's parent, Thrifty Drug Stores Co. Inc., became Thrifty Corp. in 1977 to better reflect

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5952-474: The employee seating lawsuit ( Hall v. Rite Aid Corporation , San Diego County Superior Court), the parties reached a class action settlement for $ 18 million plus institution of a two-year pilot seating program for front-end checkstands. On September 14, 2018, the Court granted preliminary approval of the settlement. On November 16, 2018, the court granted final approval of the settlement. As reported by Rite Aid,

6048-611: The firm began to trade under the name The Akron . In these ads, the variety of advertised goods was getting larger, which included such items as clothes, furniture, and live plants. Around this time, the army-navy label was dropped since the new products offered by the firm began to sharply deviate from the usual goods obtain through government surplus. In March 1955, the firm expanded into the San Fernando Valley by opening their first branch store in Burbank . A third store

6144-483: The ground lease for its Bakersfield store to RB Furniture. At a Thrifty Corp. shareholders meeting in January 1981, the president of Thrifty announced that they decided to keep Akron since Akron had showed a profit during the past few months. The unexpected death of CEO and chairman Richard Ralphs in August 1982 resulted in making Fletcher the senior executive in charge of Akron. In December 1982, Thrifty sold Akron to

6240-441: The half gallon in simple, waxed-paper boxes formed by folding interlocking flaps; these distinctive brick-like boxes were phased out in early 2008. Like most early-twentieth-century drug stores featuring an in-store grill and soda fountain, Thrifty initially purchased ice cream from local suppliers. However, as Thrifty constantly opened new stores and expanded rapidly throughout Los Angeles, it became increasingly difficult to secure

6336-482: The in-store scoop shops or would it keep the current price structure. Some Thrifty Ice cream customers are concerned that Albertsons may sell the plant and that the "new" Thrifty Ice Cream would be identical to the Lucerne and Signature Select store brands but just packaged in a different box. In August 2018, Rite Aid announced that it had decided to call off its proposed merger with Albertsons and remain independent for

6432-430: The moment. In May 2019, Rite Aid announced that it had expanded the distribution of prepackaged 48-ounce containers of Thrifty branded ice cream in up to eight out of 23 available flavors to Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. At the time of the announcement, there are no plans to sell ice cream by the scoop at those new stores outside of California. Two months later, Rite Aid announced that they plan to expand

6528-427: The news media at that time, 1974 was a very interesting year for the firm. There were at least 3 articles in the trade journal Women's Wear Daily concerning the privately held company. One article reported that the firm was doing well with increasing sales volumes during the 1970s recession . Another article reported that the three member executive team basically traded jobs with the president being appointed chairman,

6624-431: The parent company's expansion into non-pharmacy businesses through the purchase of companies such as Big 5 Sporting Goods and The Akron . During the 1980s, Thrifty further diversified by entering into several joint ventures with Herbert Haft and his East Coast–based Dart Drug that would introduce Crown Books and Trak Auto to the West Coast. Thrifty acquired 50% ownership of Crown and had opened several bookstores in

6720-555: The remainder of 2023. On October 16, Rite Aid announced that 92 additional stores would either be shuttered or sold to other pharmacies. On October 18, Rite Aid warned investors that it may not be able to survive its bankruptcy filing and might have to permanently shutter or sell all of its remaining stores over the next twelve months. That day, the company announced the closure of 154 stores, and its stock closed at an all-time low of $ 0.13 per share. On October 19, competitor Walgreens agreed to pay $ 192.5 million in an effort to settle

6816-412: The remainder of Rite Aid, in a merger of equals, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. On August 8, 2018, Rite Aid announced that the plan had failed to please shareholders and the proposed acquisition would be cancelled. In October 2020, Rite Aid announced the acquisition of the privately held Bartell Drugs , a 67-location Seattle-area chain, for $ 95 million. Some customers have criticized

6912-589: The remodeling and enlargement of the main store on Sunset and also mentions the expected opening of a store in Daly City the following month in the San Francisco Bay area. The ad also listed the addresses for 18 Southern Californian stores, but none of the Northern California stores were included. The first mention of the store in Santa Barbara occurred in an ad in the August 1972 issue of

7008-453: The store on a regular basis to eat ice cream that was sold at or below cost while those same customers browse the aisle (while eating) and usually find other items to purchase before leaving the store. Thrifty achieved Kosher certification for its ice cream products in 1994. Since 1995, Bon Suisse, a Poway , California–based company, has held an exclusive license to use the Thrifty brand name and sells 800,000 gallons of Thrifty ice cream in

7104-618: The stores is best described as eclectic and had included home decorating items, cookware, dining ware, food, clothing, electronics, live plants, and furniture. Many items were one of a kind and no one knew what would be in the stores the following week. A 1960 article in the Los Angeles Times described the store as "a pioneer in new and distinctive merchandising techniques" that "long specialized in decorator items from abroad" that included "original Italian oil paintings, native African sculptures from Kenya, and contemporary teakwood furniture from Denmark". The company sometimes describe themselves as

7200-496: The technology installed, raising concerns related to the substantial history of racial segregation and racial profiling in the United States . Rite Aid said that the selection of locations was "data-driven", based on the theft histories of individual stores, local and national crime data , and site infrastructure. The Akron Akron Stores or The Akron was a Southern California –based imported goods and home decorating department store retail chain established in 1947 and

7296-401: The then-existing 450 Thrifty stores as well as outside purveyors, the new facility was initially capable of producing 16 million gallons of ice cream annually. In 2010, the plant produced ice cream for 599 Rite Aid stores across California, as well as wholesale customers such as Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour and Costco , which accounted for 40% of sales. The reborn Farrell's franchise tested

7392-471: The vice-president/general manager/secretary appointed president, and the chairman appointed vice-president/secretary. This was the first change in leadership since the company was formed two decades earlier. A third article reported that company officials had denied rumors that the firm was in negotiations that might lead to the firm's purchase by Thrifty Drug Stores . By this time, the chain had 23 stores, all of which were located in California, and had started

7488-668: The western United States. Some stores were sold to his brother Samuel "L.S." Olnie Skaggs (then an executive at Safeway ) along with some colleagues. L.J. Skaggs retained California PayLess Stores, which eventually became part of Thrifty PayLess. The remaining PayLess stores were renamed Skaggs Drug Stores in 1948, and Skaggs Drug Centers in 1965. Peyton Hawes and William Armitage acquired a controlling interest in five drug stores in three communities in Oregon and Washington, which were named PayLess, and grew their chain through both acquisition and internal expansion. By 1984, PayLess Drug Stores

7584-561: Was a fully-owned subsidiary chain that was created by Akron to sell imported decorator products to high income customers at significantly higher prices. While most Akron locations were in free-standing stores in high traffic areas, Columbus locations were sited almost exclusively in the most expensive shopping mall that could be found that usually included such stores as Neiman Marcus , Tiffany & Co. , and Lord & Taylor . The first location opened in Houston , Texas at The Galleria in

7680-702: Was also constructed in Carson in 1968 to service all of the new locations. The fifteenth store was opened in Lakewood followed by another store in Monterey Park in 1969. The first mention of the Bakersfield store occurred in an ad in the July 1970 issue of the Times . Two stores, the 17th and 18th in the chain, were opened later in 1970 in San Bernardino and Granada Hills . In early 1971,

7776-516: Was approved by the FTC on September 19. The revised sale was completed on March 27, 2018, leaving Rite Aid with roughly 2,600 remaining stores. Three distribution centers and related inventory were transferred starting September 1, 2018, and the majority of stores were then rebranded as Walgreens. 600 stores were closed, most of which were Rite Aid stores within a mile of an existing Walgreens. On February 20, 2018, Albertsons announced plans to acquire

7872-406: Was either the largest or one of the largest programs in retail. The Home Depot , Menards , Walmart , and 7-Eleven were among other US retailers also engaged in pilot programs or deployments of facial recognition technology at that time. Of the stores examined by Reuters, those in communities where people of color made up the largest racial or ethnic group were three times as likely to have

7968-447: Was in the process of building a new headquarters building that was separate from the main store at that time. Unfortunately, the article does not mention how many stores were opened in the San Francisco area, or when. In early 1963, the chain replaced their original store on Sunset with a new larger building on the same property while still conducting business in the original building during the construction process. The original building

8064-478: Was known to carry unusual merchandise, mostly imports. The chain had over 24 stores throughout Southern California from San Diego to San Francisco before it was forced to close in 1985. In a 2001 interview in Los Angeles Magazine , co-founder Hyman Fink described selling "everything from handkerchiefs to fire hydrants to motorcycles to live Mexican monkeys" in his stores. The product mix offered in

8160-640: Was located on the southwest side of the property while the newer building was on the northeast side of the property. In 1963, a store was opened in Los Angeles on Rodeo Place in the Crenshaw district and in Tarzana . A 1963 article in the Times called the Crenshaw store the ninth store in the chain. The first mention of the Ventura-Oxnard store occurred in an ad in the September 1964 issue of

8256-556: Was losing money, Thrifty still opened new stores in rapidly expanding areas of Southern California. In November 1977, a new store opened in Laguna Hills . According to a Los Angeles Times article, this store was the 23rd store in the chain, the 20th store in Southern California, and the third store in Orange County. Later during the same month, another store was opened in Sunland-Tujunga . A fourth store in Orange County

8352-612: Was made that Thrifty was selling 45% of the Akron to Pier 1 . At the time of the sale, there was no information if Ralphs had still owned 10% of Akron. If that was true, then the 45% represented half of Thrifty's interest in Akron. There is also no information about Pier 1's involvement in Akron and if and when Pier 1 sold its shares back to Thrifty. At this point in time, Akron and Pier 1 carried very similar merchandise. To replace Richard Hadel as president, Akron hired Donn Fletcher from Pier 1 as his replacement in June 1979. Fletcher shook up

8448-426: Was named Chief Operating Officer. In 2015, Rite Aid purchased EnvisionRx, a pharmacy benefit manager , which owns subsidiary PBMs MedTrak, Connect Health Solutions, and Smith Premier Services. On October 27, 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that it expected to acquire Rite Aid for $ 9.4 billion, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. The combined company would have been the largest pharmacy chain in

8544-608: Was opened in Huntington Beach in March 1978. In September of the same year, Thrifty tried something new by opening a new Akron adjacent to a new Thrifty Drug Store in the same shopping center in Whittier . There is no record if this experiment had improved sales for either store. To be closer to the headquarters of their corporate parent, Akron moved their corporate headquarters from Melrose Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard in August 1978. In November 1978, an announcement

8640-692: Was opened in West Los Angeles in June 1957, followed by a fourth store in West Covina in August 1958. Stores built during this time period occupied 40,000 square feet of retail space. The growth rate of the firm accelerated during the 1960s. In 1960, Akron opened both their fifth store in Torrance and sixth store in Anaheim . According to a 1961 article in the Los Angeles Times , Akron had eight stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco and

8736-539: Was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within the coming weeks, in an effort to settle federal and state lawsuits over the company's role in the opioid crisis. Plans also call for the potential closure of up to 500 underperforming locations nationwide. In October 2023, CreditRiskMonitor reported that Rite Aid was nearing a potential bankruptcy filing. On October 15, 2023, amid several opioid lawsuits and legal battles, Rite Aid and some of its affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in

8832-539: Was required to divest 23 stores. Rite Aid later announced that the two chains' stores would be rebranded, retiring the 109-year-old Eckerd banner; all stores were converted to Rite Aid by September 2007. The merger made Rite Aid the dominant drug store retailer in the Eastern U.S., and the third largest drug retailer nationwide; at its peak in 2008, Rite Aid had a total of 5,059 stores and employed 112,800 people. The following fiscal quarter saw an increase in revenue but

8928-460: Was seen in the classified ad section of the December 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine for 2-way combat phones while another ad in the same issue advertised Army identification bracelets. The address given in the ad was 4379 Sunset, currently a parking lot for a television studio. By 1950, Akron Army & Navy had moved to their main location at 4400 Sunset Blvd. In their April 1950 ad in

9024-486: Was the 10% owned by Ralphs, but Thrifty had an option purchase his shares anytime in the future. Under Thrifty, Hadel was retained as president until late 1977 or early 1978 when he had left to take a position at the Sunset House division of Carter Hawley Hale Stores . By October 1977, Akron had 23 stores and Columbus had 5 stores. At this time, Akron was still losing money, but not as much as before. Although Akron

9120-525: Was the first store in San Francisco and the tenth in the chain. Store counts as reported in the Los Angeles Times during the mid-1960s are sometimes confusing since some articles appear to include the Northern California stores in their count while other article do not. In 1967, the firm's eleventh store opened in Pasadena and their fourteenth store the following year in Orange . A new service building

9216-537: Was the largest independently owned and operated drug store chain in the United States. It became a wholly owned unit of Kmart in 1985, as part of the Kmart expansion program created by CEO Joseph Antonini. In 1986, there were 225 PayLess stores. By 1990, PayLess operated in nine western states before its parent company was acquired by Rite Aid and the stores rebranded. In 1919, brothers Harry and Robert Borun, along with brother-in-law Norman Levin, founded Borun Brothers ,

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