News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Rite Aid in Cookeville will close within the next few weeks after a Walgreens spokesperson said the pharmaceutical giant has absorbed Rite Aid’s pharmacy.
Fiona Ortiz is the Director of Financial Communication at Walgreens.
“The store remains open for about two weeks after the pharmacy closes to allow for the final sale of all products,” Ortiz said. “What that means is the pharmacy counter in the back closes and you can’t pick up prescriptions anymore.”
Rite Aid completed the transfer of over 1,900 stores to Walgreens in March for nearly $4.4 billion in cash.
Ortiz said Walgreens is committed to helping Rite Aid employees who may be displaced by the merger.
“We’re committed to taking care of team members throughout this process and expect to have positions at other locations for a majority of impacted team members,” Ortiz said. “We’ll make every effort to find the same or similar position for team members who are effected.”
Cookeville’s Rite Aid pharmacy closed June 21, meaning the storefront will likely close on or around July 5.
Rite Aid locations in Celina, Crossville, Smithville, and Sparta currently have Walgreens pharmacies with a Rite Aid storefront. Celina’s location said the store will likely become a full Walgreens in the near future, while the Crossville and Sparta locations stated their store’s futures are unclear at the moment. Smithville’s manager was not available to comment.
