A Rite Aid store in New York City has closed its doors after reports of rampant shoplifting, company officials announced.
Located near the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 50th Street in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, the drug store was seen empty on Thursday morning, with stripped shelves and no staff members present in the establishment.
Crime is worse in NYC after Joe Biden’s visit to NYC for a photo op. Eric Adams doesn’t care about the safety of New Yorkers so he should resign. https://t.co/QSkFQu6q1C
— 💋Ava💋 (@TheRightAva88) February 11, 2022
Rite Aid spokesperson Jeffrey Olson confirmed that the store was scheduled to shut down on Tuesday, adding that the company has promised alternative employment options for its displaced workers.
“Every associate has been offered job opportunities and transfers within Rite Aid,” said the spokesperson. “There is no job loss tied to these decisions; rather, associates have been offered and are taking roles at other Rite Aids in the area.”
Staffers at the location reported a shoplifting incident last month, where brazen thieves stole more than $200,000 in merchandise over the past two months.
“They come in every day, sometimes twice a day, with laundry bags and just load up on stuff,” shared one store employee to The Post. “They take whatever they want and we can’t do anything about it. It’s why the store is closing. They can’t afford to keep it open.”
Staffers were instructed by the company to tell customers Rite Aid is shutting down the store to cut costs, but they suspect that the constant shoplifting was a key factor in the decision.
In an interview with FOX Business, a Rite Aid spokesperson previously said that the stores are closing “for a number of reasons”.
“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 spokesperson said.
“A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously, and those decisions are based on a variety of factors that retail businesses consider such as overarching business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance.”
A different Rite Aid store located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is also slated to close its doors on February 15 due to a similar surge in thefts.
