Rite Aid declares bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and opioid crisis

I closed UAW strike enters second month, a driving update by telling my readers "stay tuned for a retail apocalypse update tomorrow, as Rite Aid has declared bankruptcy." Time to follow through with Yahoo Finance reporting Rite Aid bankruptcy complicated by opioid lawsuits, debt.

Rite Aid (RAD) has officially filed for bankruptcy while struggling with piling debt and ongoing opioid lawsuits. Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports on this story and deep dives into the unique nature of this particular Chapter 11 filing for the chain pharmacy.

The Retail Apocalypse and the opioid crisis finally cross paths. After all the years I've written about both, it was time I saw it happen. ABC News has more on that intersection in Rite Aid files for bankruptcy.

The company, which reportedly has billions of dollars in debt and is facing more than 1,000 lawsuits claiming it filled illegal prescriptions for painkillers, will close hundreds of stores.

It's not just individuals suing Rite Aid, but the Department of Justice pursuing legal action over filling illegal prescriptions. Ouch.

KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh emphasized the effect of the bankruptcy on workers and customers in Several local Rite Aid stores to close after company files for bankruptcy.

Rite Aid, a Philadelphia-based pharmacy company, has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.

I expect to be writing about store closures in the near future. This probably won't affect me. I haven't been in a Rite Aid for years and stopped shopping there regularly when I moved out of Ann Arbor at the end of the last century. I couldn't even say where the nearest Rite Aid is to me, but I can tell you where the nearest Walgreens and CVS are. I shop there now.

Finally, CNBC looked at the responses of drug stores to new competitors in Rite Aid files for bankruptcy.

CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss Rite Aid filing for bankruptcy and what went wrong.

CVS and Walgreens have decided to become healthcare providers as much as retailers. My wife, who alerted me to this story, and I just got our flu, COVID-19, and RSV shots at Walgreens last month and we weren't alone.

That's it for today's installment of the continuing saga of the Retail Apocalypse. I plan on returning to Jim Jordan running for Speaker, which is turning into another Groundhog Day. Stay tuned.