Store closures: Rite Aid, Natural Grocers

Rite Aid will close three stores in Western New York, according to reporting by WKBW news in Buffalo, N.Y.

Two of the stores are in Buffalo, N.Y. and one is in Niagara Falls. The stores and the closing dates are:

According to Rite Aid:

“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. 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. We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services. We also strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible.” 

In other store closings, Natural Grocers plans to close two stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on June 27. The two North Texas stores, Fort Worth-North, located at 5230 North Tarrant Parkway and Coppell, located at 120 S. Denton Tap Road, Suite 300, will begin store-wide closing sales on May 15, with discounts of 25% off everything in the stores. All sales will be final.

The company said it’s working with employees impacted by these closures to identify transfer opportunities to other stores. All other impacted employees will be offered a transition package, including severance and benefits.

Fort Worth-North and Coppell are two of 25 total Natural Grocers stores in Texas. 

Natural Grocers states the decision to close the stores was made after careful consideration of each store's performance. The grocer said it currently has no plans to close any additional stores.

“We made the difficult decision to close two lower-performing stores, Fort Worth-North and Coppell,” said Kemper Isely, Co-President of Natural Grocers. “We remain committed to serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and believe that our neighboring stores will continue to provide these communities the world-class customer service, quality and affordability for which Natural Grocers is known.”