PHOTO BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
The time of Rite Aid being located in the Village of Swanton is coming to an end. The chain pharmacy store has announced the closure of the store, which will take effect on two separate dates.
The pharmacy side of the store will be closed effective June 24th. All other sales operations will cease on July 21st with that date being the last day of business.
According to a statement issued by Rite Aid, “Rite Aid regularly assesses its retail footprint to ensure we are operating efficiently while meeting the needs of our customers, communities, associates and overall business.”
“In connection with the court-supervised process, we notified the Court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance.”
“At this time, we have not made or confirmed any decisions on additional specific store closures as part of our financial restructuring process.”
“The decision to close a store is not one we take lightly. The company, with the assistance of its advisors, carefully considers various factors in its decision-making, including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance.”
“For our customers, we make every effort to ensure they have access to pharmacy-based health services, whether at another Rite Aid or other nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions to ensure there is no disruption of service.”
“For our associates, we strive to transfer them to other Rite Aid locations where possible. In fact, approximately 75% of our associates have accepted opportunities to transfer location if their store has been or is part of the ongoing store closures.”
The closure leaves the Wauseon location as the sole remaining Rite Aid store in Fulton County. When asked about further plans for the Wauseon location, Rite Aid responded saying “Currently, there are no plans to close our location at 1496 North Shoop Avenue, Wauseon, OH.”
The closing of Swanton’s Rite Aid location will have an impact on people who live in the area. Swanton Chamber of Commerce Director Delray Busch spoke about the effect the closing will have on residents, and her personally.
“Many people may not be able to easily access their prescriptions. There are some insurances that Kroger does not take. These people will now have to travel to places like Meijer or online pharmacies.”
“This will have a huge impact on those with children who are sick or elderly residents who may not be able to travel as easily for their medications.”
“There was no indication of the store closing. There were new coolers installed recently and employees I had talked to said they were shocked.”
With the Swanton Rite Aid closure, the closest pharmacy would be Kroger in Swanton. The next closest pharmacy would be the Community Market Pharmacy in Delta. Additionally, two Rite Aid locations exist near Swanton, with one in Wauseon and the other in Holland.