The drugstore retail sector has faced hundreds of store closings since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic as pharmacy chains have sought to reduce costs and losses.
CVS (CVS) led the way in 2021 when it said it would close 900 of its 9,900 stores, shutting 300 stores in each year in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Related: Struggling gas station chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) followed the CVS lead as it in June 2023 said it would close up to 450 of its Walgreens stores in the U.S. and U.K. to simplify its business.
Major pharmacy closings didn’t end there as bankruptcy filings by competitors led to even more closings beginning with nationwide chain Rite Aid’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy that it filed on Oct. 15, 2023.
The Philadelphia-based drugstore chain filed its petition after the U.S. Department of Justice on March 13, 2023, filed a complaint in intervention in a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act against the company, alleging it knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances.
The company, which had about $3.3 billion in debt when it filed bankruptcy, faced a potential opioid settlement that could have added another $1 billion in debt to its liabilities. It chose to file Chapter 11 to allow the company to negotiate a deal under bankruptcy protection.
Related: Another major retail chain may soon file Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Rite Aid rejected leases and closed 154 locations right out of the gate, and as it now approaches its emergence from Chapter 11, it has shuttered more than 520 of the over 1,200 stores it operated on the day it filed.
Smaller pharmacy chains have struggled to compete against CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, and several have needed to filed Chapter 11 to restructure their businesses to survive.
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Eastern Kentucky drugstore chain Rx Discount Pharmacy, with about seven pharmacy and healthcare businesses, on May 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in London. The debtor did not specify a reason for filing bankruptcy in its petition.
A woman is shopping in a pharmacy. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa (Photo by Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy owner files bankruptcy
And now CL Cressler Inc., the owner of seven Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy stores located in Pennsylvania and New York, on Aug. 29 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its debts.
The Camp Hill, Pa.-based drugstore owner listed over $1.5 million in assets and over $12.2 million in liabilities in its petition. The debtor indicated in its petition that funds will be available to distribute to unsecured creditors.
CL Cressler’s largest creditors include Commercial Finance Group, owed $6 million; Carol and Clyde Cressler, owed $3.7 million; and Cardinal Distribution, owed over $1.2 million.
The debtor generated $50.8 million in gross revenue in 2023 after reporting $61.5 million in gross revenue in 2022. The debtor has not indicated a reason for filing bankruptcy.
The debtor, which also does business as Care Capital Management, owns The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy locations in Lancaster, Newport and Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Binghamton, N.Y. It also owns The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy long term care division locations in Pittsburgh and Camp Hill, Pa., and also Binghamton.
These seven The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy locations are the only ones included in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. St. Louis-based Medicine Shoppe International, a Cardinal Health (CAH) company, is one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains with nearly 500 locations in 43 states, according to its website. The Medicine Shoppe and Cardinal Health have not filed for bankruptcy.
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