Rite-Aid closing all stores and not buying new inventory

[DodgerGirl]

Do you remember when Valu-Rite was all the rage? I think that's who bought Rexall Drug Stores because when my family used to drive to Disneyland in the 90's my mom and I would stop at a Rexall Drug Store to look around and they would carry Valu-Rite brand items and have neat stuff and believe it or not that store is still there today. But as I mentioned when Payless Drugs merged with Thrifty in the 90's they knew trouble would begin as soon as they became Rite Aid. But when Dad would go to work while he was at his job Mom and I would get dropped off at a shopping center which had a large old-style Rite Aid and when Mom and I went in there it was like the Thrifty of the 80's and it was so big that it had almost anything you could think of and my mother and I would buy snacks and read magazines because their magazine aisle was so big and I would also find Harry Potter books and Marvel and DC comics there too. My family also went to another Rite Aid and that Rite Aid was like a Kmart rather than a Rite Aid store because it was set up like Kmart and my dad and I used to find interesting stuff like music CDs movies and comics like Marvel comics and comics of Buffy The Vampire Slayer too and they even carried novels like Stephen King novels and VC Andrews books too. When Rite Aid closes I wonder who will sell the Thrifty Ice Cream? Because my great-aunt used to buy it every time she and my great-uncle would shop at Thrifty to get her stuff

 

[Nayan]

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/...-prescriptions-thrifty-ice-cream/83582198007/

 

[bcla]

Do you remember when Valu-Rite was all the rage? I think that's who bought Rexall Drug Stores because when my family used to drive to Disneyland in the 90's my mom and I would stop at a Rexall Drug Store to look around and they would carry Valu-Rite brand items and have neat stuff and believe it or not that store is still there today. But as I mentioned when Payless Drugs merged with Thrifty in the 90's they knew trouble would begin as soon as they became Rite Aid. But when Dad would go to work while he was at his job Mom and I would get dropped off at a shopping center which had a large old-style Rite Aid and when Mom and I went in there it was like the Thrifty of the 80's and it was so big that it had almost anything you could think of and my mother and I would buy snacks and read magazines because their magazine aisle was so big and I would also find Harry Potter books and Marvel and DC comics there too. My family also went to another Rite Aid and that Rite Aid was like a Kmart rather than a Rite Aid store because it was set up like Kmart and my dad and I used to find interesting stuff like music CDs movies and comics like Marvel comics and comics of Buffy The Vampire Slayer too and they even carried novels like Stephen King novels and VC Andrews books too. When Rite Aid closes I wonder who will sell the Thrifty Ice Cream? Because my great-aunt used to buy it every time she and my great-uncle would shop at Thrifty to get her stuff

I remember that, but that itself was just a different brand that associated with independent pharmacies. My reading is that the brand started just before Rexall went kaput, and was started by Foremost-McKesson, which later owned but divested a different Rexall in Canada. But yeah a lot of pharmacies that didn't have Rexall branded products to sell any more switched to Valu-Rite.

As far as Foremost-McKesson goes, I remember Foremost milk and ice cream until they sold off their dairy operation. I also used to work a summer job in San Francisco where the McKesson headquarters building had a really good cafeteria that was open to the public and was relatively cheap.

It looks like all their trademarks were cancelled around 2009.

https://uspto.report/TM/73171966

Status 900 Dead/Expired​

Serial Number	73171966
Registration Number	1115494
Mark Drawing Code	3T13: Illustration: Drawing or design which also includes word(s)/ letter(s)/number(s)

Timeline​

1977-12-13	Date of First Use
1978-05-26	Application Filed
1979-03-27	Trademark Registered
1999-03-27	Renewal Date
2008-01-09	Location: SCANNING ON DEMAND
2009-11-01	Status: Dead/Expired
2018-07-07	Transaction Date

Trademark Applicants & Owners​

Owner:	FOREMOST-McKESSON, INC.
Address	CROCKER PLAZA 1 POST STREET SAN FRANCISCO MD 94104
Legal Entity Type	Corporation
Legal Entity State	DE

 

[flyingdumbo127]

It is interesting how stores vary between states and even areas of a city. For example, there are no Dollar Tree Stores in my immediate area. There used to be (before they went out of business) three 99 Cent Only Stores. Similarly, out here Kroger owned supermarkets are Ralphs whereas a neighboring states have Kroger or Frys.

 

[Diznygrl]

When Rite Aid closes I wonder who will sell the Thrifty Ice Cream?

I noticed that WinCo (grocery store chain) started selling Thrifty ice cream in cartons for the past few months. Supposedly you can also find it at Albertson's, Von's, and Safeway.

 

[citruscurtis]

It is interesting how stores vary between states and even areas of a city. For example, there are no Dollar Tree Stores in my immediate area. There used to be (before they went out of business) three 99 Cent Only Stores. Similarly, out here Kroger owned supermarkets are Ralphs whereas a neighboring states have Kroger or Frys.

Our dollar tree moved into vacated 99 store immediately.. from it's lonely desert plot . that was. right next to family general... very easy it was to access and on way to the most crowded establishment on the street from November to April... post office .. now in a hard to park strip mall .. dollar store is now 4x larger... could be the chain largest

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Dad and I would love a neighborhood Dollar Tree. I don't think I've ever been to a Dollar General. I saw on CVS' website yesterday a welcome to all Rite Aid Pharmacy users. Dad goes to Rite Aid whenever he needs a prescription which thank God is not often. He will using Ralphs Pharmacy in the future. Ralphs is only a few minutes past Rite and somewhere we go all the time anyway.

 

[mylilnikita]

We originally had 3 in my city with 2 being close to me, but both have been closed.
The one left I guess will be no more

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think CVS Pharmacy has taken over most of the drug store glory because they have seemed to become the king of drug stores and Walgreens is now second in the top drug store chains. But I think Rite Aid saw it coming because they used to be top drug store in the 80's. But in California I had never heard of Rite Aid until when Payless Drugs/Thrifty bought them and then they converted all the Payless Drugs/Thrifty stores to Rite Aid. And in my area Longs Drugs and Payless Drugs and Thrifty dominated my town but when I lived in the country we actually had two Longs Drugs both converted from a Payless Drugs and the other Longs Drugs was a former Valu-Rite then after it was Longs Drugs it's now CVS Pharmacy. When it comes to drug stores there really isn't another drug store chain that compares to Rite Aid and CVS and Walgreens. But I think a store will buy the Rite Aid name and try to market their pharmacies in grocery stores like CVS has done with Target

 

[bcla]

Someone bought the Thrifty ice cream brand name (and the factory that made it) in a bankruptcy sale.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/07/01/thrifty-ice-cream-sold/84437266007/​

Hilrod Holdings was named the successful bidder for the ice cream maker and KPH Healthcare Services in court documents filed June 26. The transaction was approved July 1 by a federal bankruptcy judge in New Jersey, according to court documents.​

​

The holding company, tied to Monster Beverage Corporation executivesHilton Schlosberg and Rodney Sacks, will pay $19.2 million for the purchased assets, according to court documents. Sacks resigned as co-CEO in June ahead of retiring from the company, while Schlosberg would continue as CEO, according to SEC filings.​

​

https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/RiteAid2025/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=MzY5NTkwMQ==&id2=-1​

 

[DodgerGirl]

During the 80's drug stores were starting to boom and get popular and as soon as they got popular drug stores took off like rockets and I think why Rite Aid got big in California was because they had taken a big gamble and decided to see how popular they would be in California. Because California was big on drug stores and people would use drug stores not only for prescriptions and medical supplies but you bought greeting cards toys Christmas decorations Easter candy Halloween candy and beauty items like makeup and face creams and shampoos and fragrances. And another part of drug stores I liked was going in the beauty aisle with Mom and we would sample fragrances and I would help Mom buy her shampoos and body lotions there and it was nice. But when you look at drug store chains such as Sav-On Drugs and Osco Drugs you can see why they were successful and Rite Aid was competing with them. And another drug store chain that was big was Phar-Mor and they were huge in the 80's and 90's until their bankruptcy in the 2000's. But with Rite Aid gone and CVS still remaining supreme I think the only closest thing to a drug store is independent local pharmacies because they also are very big in small towns

 

[leebee]

Wow... Rite Aids have been gone up here for a long time, several years at least. Also, the only CVS I remember seeing north of Portland has been in a Target store. We are dominated by Walgreens, and they are closing 1200 stores. Right now, they are about the only game in town, so I don't know if they'll close here or not. How can you be under-performing if there's no or limited competition?

 

[Nayan]

How can you be under-performing if there's no or limited competition?

Online pharmacies, Walmart, Target, grocery stores, etc. There's quite a bit of competition!

 

[LoveDaisy]

I have never heard of thrifty ice cream. Is that their generic ice cream? Or a regional? The Rite Aids by me also closed years ago. We also don’t have Albertsons, vons or Safeways.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thrifty ice cream was part of my childhood and for so many years after that here in California. I loved their Mint n Chip because it had flakes instead of hard no flavor chips like some other brands. Chocolate Malted Krunch was another favorite. I am old enough to remember a scoop at Thrifty costing 15 cents and then for a while a quarter. Grandparents and dad also enjoyed this cool treat. Sweet memories

 

[Genie+]

Still 60 left here in NJ. The one in our town center closed. There’s still the old neighborhood pharmacy and Walgreens surviving on that same block our Riteaid closed. There other closest Riteaid turned into a Walgreens a couple years ago.

Anybody remember Eckerd’s? Those were very popular around here over 20 years ago. Those locations were mostly changed into CVS and RiteAid. Now those RiteAids are either closing up or turning into Walgreens.

 

[RedAngie]

Anybody remember Eckerd’s? Those were very popular around here over 20 years ago. Those locations were mostly changed into CVS and RiteAid. Now those RiteAids are either closing up or turning into Walgreens.

View attachment 980484

Yes, I remember Eckerd Drugs.

At first I think JC Penney owned Thrift Drugs. Many had JCP catalog outlets within where ordered merchandise could be picked up and returned.

Thrift turned into Eckerd, then in my area most Eckerds became Rite Aid, while a few became CVS or closed altogether because they were too close to established stores of those brands.

Currently one closed Rite Aid near me is a Goodwill Thrift store and another is slated to become something called Grocery Outlet. I’m thinking it’s similar to Sav-a-lot.

 

[Genie+]

Yes, I remember Eckerd Drugs.

At first I think JC Penney owned Thrift Drugs. Many had JCP catalog outlets within where ordered merchandise could be picked up and returned.

Thrift turned into Eckerd, then in my area most Eckerds became Rite Aid, while a few became CVS or closed altogether because they were too close to established stores of those brands.

Currently one closed Rite Aid near me is a Goodwill Thrift store and another is slated to become something called Grocery Outlet. I’m thinking it’s similar to Sav-a-lot.

Eckerd had the best coupon circulars every week!

 

[bcla]

During the 80's drug stores were starting to boom and get popular and as soon as they got popular drug stores took off like rockets and I think why Rite Aid got big in California was because they had taken a big gamble and decided to see how popular they would be in California. Because California was big on drug stores and people would use drug stores not only for prescriptions and medical supplies but you bought greeting cards toys Christmas decorations Easter candy Halloween candy and beauty items like makeup and face creams and shampoos and fragrances. And another part of drug stores I liked was going in the beauty aisle with Mom and we would sample fragrances and I would help Mom buy her shampoos and body lotions there and it was nice. But when you look at drug store chains such as Sav-On Drugs and Osco Drugs you can see why they were successful and Rite Aid was competing with them. And another drug store chain that was big was Phar-Mor and they were huge in the 80's and 90's until their bankruptcy in the 2000's. But with Rite Aid gone and CVS still remaining supreme I think the only closest thing to a drug store is independent local pharmacies because they also are very big in small towns

California had been dominated by regional chains. Sav-on, Longs, Thrifty, PayLess. They were all mostly selling non-pharmacy items. I remember my local PayLess, which was later a Thrifty PayLess, then Longs, then CVS before closing. They had a varied selection of items in addition to just medications and other medical supplies. I remember a big sporting goods section including baseball/softball bats/gloves, fishing supplies, and even ammo. I saw shotgun shells on unlocked shelves. They even had a garden section. And even before then it was a part of a small, local chain called Value Giant.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Yes, I remember Eckerd Drugs.

At first I think JC Penney owned Thrift Drugs. Many had JCP catalog outlets within where ordered merchandise could be picked up and returned.

Thrift turned into Eckerd, then in my area most Eckerds became Rite Aid, while a few became CVS or closed altogether because they were too close to established stores of those brands.

Currently one closed Rite Aid near me is a Goodwill Thrift store and another is slated to become something called Grocery Outlet. I’m thinking it’s similar to Sav-a-lot.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is a grocery store that's like a supermarket version of Big Lots and you can find good deals on food and they carry brands like General Mills Pillsbury Kellogg's Procter And Gamble and other brands as well and in addition to groceries Grocery Outlet Bargain Market also carries items like clothing and housewares and home decor too. I do remember Eckerd because my godfather used to shop there and buy Easter candy to send to me and my family. But I do remember Payless Drugs selling sporting goods and electronics because my dad bought a fishing rod there when my aunt mom and father and me and my cousin went camping and my mother bought a stereo for me there when my portable stereo broke on a Disneyland trip once