Rite Aid
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Same-store, front-end sales grew 8.5% in fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 26, spurred by lower prices on key items, weekly advertising circulars and expanded product categories, drug chain announces Oct. 10. Front-end sales, which constituted 41% of total sales for the quarter, are expected to further improve due to enhanced supplier relationships, Rite Aid maintains. The chain posted net sales of $3.44 bil. for the quarter but incurred a net loss of $456.5 mil. Of that total, $77.2 mil. was related to the decline in drugstore.com's common stock, with additional losses of $12.5 mil. and $24.1 mil. representing Rite Aid's share of the e-commerce site's losses in the second quarter and first half, respectively. Rite Aid acquired a 25.3% share in drugstore.com in June 1999 (1"The Tan Sheet" June 28, 1999, p. 7)