A POPULAR pharmacy is shuttering yet another store in a major US city that has endured multiple closures.
Rite Aid-owned Bartell Drugs will be shutting down its fourth store within months on Monday.
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Rite Aid explained the reasoning behind the closure of the Bartell Drugs store in Seattle in a statement obtained by local ABC affiliate KOMO.
"Like all retail businesses, we regularly review each of our locations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers, communities, and overall business," the company wrote.
"A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance."
The company went on to say that it is constantly reviewing neighborhoods to make sure people always have access to health services, at a Bartell Drugs or another pharmacy.
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The retail giant is now working to ensure that customers can easily transfer prescriptions ahead of the store closure.
It is also working to transfer employees to other stores in the area.
This is the fourth Bartell Drug Store closure in Seattle in the last year.
The company has a long history in Washington as a family-owned franchise starting in 1890.
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It expanded to 67 locations, generated more than $550million in revenue, and filled 5.5million prescriptions annually across stores in Seattle and King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, according to the company.
In 2020, Rite Aid bought the company for $95million and Bartell Drugs joined its lineup of 2,213 stores in the United States.
Since then, Rite Aid has also struggled to avoid store closures.
The drug store has been in the process of closing more than 145 locations all over the United States since 2021.
Scott Winkler, who lives in Rochester, New York, was hurt when he found out that his local Rite Aid was shutting down.
"Somebody has to stand up for what's right, and that is a pharmacy that is an intricate part of this area," he said.
"Now it's gone, and the only thing we have left is Family Dollar — and hopefully they won't close."
