SW La. Rite Aid stores closing
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Prescription records to be transferred to nearby Walgreens
By Gena Latrell
glatrell@americanpress.com
The Lake Area’s three Rite Aid stores — two in Lake Charles and one in Sulphur — will close within the next month, officials with parent company Walgreens said Tuesday.
James W. Graham, senior media relations manager for Walgreens, said the company decided to close the stores after “a careful and thorough review.”
“We looked at many factors,” said Graham, “including stores within close proximity to other Walgreens or Walgreens-owned Rite Aid stores, to determine the best footprint to serve our customers and patients.”
The Rite Aid at 2825 Ryan St. will close its pharmacy on July 11, and patients’ prescription records will be transferred to the Walgreens at 2636 Ryan St., Graham said.
The pharmacy at the Rite Aid at 115 W. McNeese St. will close on July 18, and prescription records will be sent to the Walgreens at 4097 Ryan St., he said.
The Rite Aid at 1601 E. Napoleon St. in Sulphur will close its pharmacy on July 17, and patients’ prescription records will be available at the Walgreens at 1021 Beglis Parkway, Graham said.
All three stores will remain open for about two weeks after the pharmacies close so they can sell off their inventory, he said.
Employees at all three locations were recently informed of the imminent closures, and the company will help them find the “same or similar positions” at Walgreens stores, Graham said.
The closures will help the company “create a more focused network of stores that can deliver the greatest value for our customers,” he said.
The Rite Aid closures are the latest in a recent series of such announcements. Sears and Kmart, both owned by Sears Holdings Corp., announced the closures of their local stores last month.
