Rite Aid History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones - Zippia (2024)

Expansion did not stop there; in 1965 Rite Aid penetrated Connecticut, and its store count rose to 25.

In 1966 Rite Aid continued to expand.

Although Rite Aid was not formally incorporated until 1968, it got its start a few years earlier through Rack Rite Distributors, developed by Alex Grass, Rite Aid’s founder and later chairman and chief executive officer.

The company also set up a new division to handle its business in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. It acquired the 31-store South Carolina division of Fays Drug and made its third stock split since its initial public offering in 1968, issuing additional common stock contingent on the four-for-three stock split.

Also in 1970 Rite Aid acquired the 16-store Fountain Chain in Clarksburg, Virginia.

Rite Aid is one of Fortune 500's Largest United States Corporations. It moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1970.

In November 1971 Rite Aid sold 250,000 new shares of common stock to the public.

In 1971 the company acquired Sera-Tec Biologicals, Inc., of New Jersey, which was combined with the company’s prior acquisitions of Immuno Serums and Sero-Genics to comprise the company’s medical services division.

The year 1971 was a period of rapid growth.

When 1972’s Hurricane Agnes wrought severe damage on the company’s stores in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Elmira, New York, it also damaged the phone and water service at corporate headquarters.

In 1972 Rite Aid focused on internal efficiency in preparation for additional expansion.

In 1973, through the Middle East oil embargo and ensuing recession, Rite Aid again began making acquisitions.

In one year, by 1974, the Rome distribution center had begun supplying 131 Rite Aid stores.

By 1976 Rite Aid was back on the acquisition track, purchasing the 52-store Keystone Centers, Inc., of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In 1977 Rite Aid’s private label products, with almost 900 different items, accounted for 9% of its retail sales.

In 1979 Rite Aid acquired six U-Save stores in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, as well as nine Shop Rite stores in the Hudson Valley.

In 1980 Rite Aid adopted some new tactics in its growth plan.

Also in 1980 Rite Aid became one of the nation’s largest suppliers of plasma with the opening of its ninth plasmapheresis center.

In 1981, Rite Aid became the third-largest retail drugstore chain in the country.

In 1982 Rite Aid became the largest United States drug chain as measured by the number of stores and market share in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia.

1983 marked a sales milestone of $1 billion.

By 1984 Rite Aid started expanding beyond its core business.

In 1984 Rite Aid also spun off its subsidiary wholesale and grocery division, Super Rite, as an autonomous public company, selling a partial interest in its holdings for $22 million.

A large number of acquisitions brought the chain to the state of Michigan in 1984.

In 1985 Rite Aid focused less on acquisitions than on internally generated growth.

Rite Aid also installed new computer systems to handle buying and accounting for ADAP. In 1986 two of Rite Aid’s corporate officers received prestigious positions.

The year 1986 was not a period of major expansion for Rite Aid.

In 1987 Rite Aid was the largest employer in the retail drug industry.

Expansion into Ohio began in 1987 through the acquisition of Cleveland-based Gray Drug.

In April 1988 Rite Aid acquired the Begley Company, consisting of 39 drugstores in Kentucky and 140 dry cleaners in ten states, for about $20 million.

The following year, 1988, Rite Aid purchased from Sherwin-Williams the balance of Gray Drug Fair, consisting of 356 stores in Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Rite Aid finalized a deal with Super Rite Foods Holding Corporation in March of 1989 to sell its 46% interest in Super Rite Foods, Inc.

On April 10, 1989, Peoples Drug's 114 unit Lane Drug of Ohio was purchased by Rite Aid.

In September of 1989, it disposed of its 46.8% equity in Super Rite Foods for $18.37 million with a positive cash flow in excess of $40 million.

In 1989 the company continued to expand and enhance the technology it provided to its stores.

Also in 1989, Rite Aid acquired 99 People’s Drug Stores and 18 Lane Drug units.

The company in 1990 continued to focus on the integration of both its past and present acquisitions.

Prescription sales for 1990 advanced 17.8% from the previous year, and then represented a full 43% of store revenues.

In 1991 Rite Aid added 68 stores and bought prescription records from 65 drugstores in Washington, D.C.

The recession brought opportunities to acquire vulnerable companies, and Rite Aid bid for the bankrupt Revco D.S., Inc. chain in early 1992.

Market value, once $1.3 billion in 1993, reached about $2.5 billion.

Beginning in 1994 Rite Aid opened 50 state-of-the-art drug-stores in New York City, boosting the total to 67 within the city.

Rite Aid acquired twenty-four Hook's Drug Stores stores in 1994, selling nine of those stores to Perry Drug Stores, a Michigan-based pharmacy chain.

In May 1996 Rite Aid opened its first new prototype store in Perry Hall, MD. The 10,500-square-foot prototype store included lighted gondolas and dramatic signage, a larger beauty department, a photo processing mini-lab, a service counter, a greeting card section, a food department, and a pharmacy.

In November 1996 the company entered into a joint venture to provide mail order pharmacy services with Smith Kline Beecham’s Diversified Pharmaceutical Services, a leading pharmacy benefit manager.

In 1996 Rite Aid continued to restructure its business to operate larger, higher volume, and more profitable drugstores.

In 1996, Rite Aid acquired Thrifty PayLess, a 1,000-store West Coast chain.

In addition, in 1997 Rite Aid opened 369 new, 10,500-square-foot prototype stores, which seemed to pay off.

Rite Aid now operated more than 3,600 stores, and revenues for 1998 reached $11.38 billion.

The acquisition of Thrifty PayLess included the Northwest-based Bi-Mart membership discount stores, which was sold off in 1998.

Rite Aid's existing PBM, Eagle Managed Care, was subsequently melded into PCS. Also in January 1999 Rite Aid entered into an alliance with General Nutrition Companies, Inc. (GNC), a leading retailer of specialty vitamins and supplements.

The $1.5 billion deal, financed through short-term borrowing, was completed in January 1999.

A partnership with drugstore.com in June 1999 allowed customers of Rite Aid to place medical prescription orders online for same-day, in-store pickup.

After a short period of interim leadership, Robert G. Miller was named chairman and CEO of Rite Aid in December 1999.

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.

A $3.2 billion loan refinancing completed in June 2001 further strengthened the firm's financial footing, helping reduce total debt to about $3.7 billion and easing it back from the brink of bankruptcy.

Sammons was rewarded by being promoted to president and CEO in June 2003, with Miller remaining chairman.

Net income of $22.5 million that quarter reduced the net loss for the first nine months of the year to $26.9 million. It was nevertheless certain that Rite Aid had entered a new growth phase: In June 2003 the company announced plans to build 175 new stores in its strongest markets over the next two fiscal years.

Another signal of the firm's recovery came in February 2004 when it was reported that Rite Aid had entered the bidding for the Eckerd chain, which J.C. Penney was attempting to sell.

On August 23, 2006, the Wall Street Journal announced that Rite Aid would acquire 1,858 Eckerd Pharmacy and Brooks Pharmacy stores from Jean Coutu for US$3.4 billion.

The merger was signed and completed as of June 4, 2007, with all remaining Eckerd stores converted to Rite Aid by the end of September 2007.

On January 4, 2008, Rite Aid Corporation announced that it would terminate operation of its 28 Rite Aid stores in the Las Vegas, Nevada, area and had signed an agreement to sell patient prescription files from that metro market to Walgreens.

Founder Alex Grass died of cancer on August 27, 2009.

After serving six years in prison, Martin Grass was released on January 18, 2010.

The wellness+ card is Rite Aid's free shopping rewards card that started nationwide on April 18, 2010.

After Plenti was discontinued Rite Aid re-introduced the wellness+ program. It became a part of the newly launched American Express-backed Plenti rewards program in May 2015.

On October 27, 2015, Walgreens announced that it would acquire Rite Aid for $9.4 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

In 2015, Rite Aid purchased EnvisionRx, a pharmacy benefit manager, which owns subsidiary PBMs MedTrak, Connect Health Solutions, and Smith Premier Services.

On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Fred's would acquire 865 Rite Aid stores as a result of the merger for $950 million, for antitrust reasons.

On January 31, 2017, it was reported that the workers' union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, representing 6,000 Rite Aid Corp workers, was opposed to the sale of the Rite Aid stores to Fred's Inc.

On June 29, 2017, Walgreens announced the merger was canceled, adding that it would be purchasing 2,186 stores from Rite Aid for $5.2 billion plus a $325 million penalty for canceling.

Rite Aid introduced wellness+ BonusCash on January 1, 2018.

The sale was completed on March 27, 2018.

After the acquisition, Walgreens closed about 600 stores over 18 months starting in spring 2018, mostly Rite Aid stores within a mile of an existing Walgreens.

In October 2020, Rite Aid announced the acquisition of the privately held Bartell Drugs, a 67-location Seattle-area chain, for $95 million.

Alex Grass