Pittsburgh Rite Aid has some empty shelves amid bankruptcy process

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Rite Aid drugstores filed for bankruptcy 10 months ago. Since that time, stores have been closing at a rapid rate and many that are still open are filled with empty shelves.

In October of last year, Philadelphia-based Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy . Two of the big reasons are competition with giants like Amazon and middlemen who work with insurance companies on pricing prescription medications.

That makes it hard for drugstores to make money. In any bankruptcy, companies that supply merchandise to stores -- in this case, product for the shelves -- often hold back, worrying about receiving payment, hence the empty shelves.

The store manager at the Squirrel Hill location didn't want to go on record, but in casual conversation, he told KDKA-TV that just about everyone who comes in asks if they're closing because of the empty shelves. She says to her knowledge, they're not, saying they're the the most profitable store in the Pittsburgh area.

Rite Aid originally thought they'd close 154 stores when they filed for bankruptcy last October, but they've already closed more than 500. Part of what Rite Aid must do is prove to the bankruptcy court that they are working to become profitable.

In a statement published by KDKA-TV's partners at the Post-Gazette in April, Rite Aid said:

"In connection with the court-supervised process, we notified the court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance."