Some area residents have received letters via postal mail from the Walgreens store chain about changes at a local store:
“… We’d like to inform you that your neighborhood Rite Aid store at 1100 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester is now part of Walgreens. Over the next two years we’ll be converting stores owned by Walgreens and installing new systems. In the meantime you’ll continue to earn wellness+ and Plenti points, and you’ll receive the same great service from the same trusted pharmacy staff.
The first change you’ll notice is that your store now has a Walgreens pharmacy, and we accept most insurance plans. Please call 617-282-3069 or stop by to fill your next prescription. Our website and app will be unable to process prescriptions at this store during the transition, but we’ll be happy to assist you.
It’s important to us that you always receive attentive service and get your questions answered. In an effort to ensure your care is continued and coordinate any upcoming prescription needs, Walgrees may call you. If you prefer not to be contacted, please call 866-312-8654.
Our team looks forward to continuing to serve you and your pharmacy needs.
Sincerely,
Your Rite Aid Pharmacy Team”
The letter did not include a date nor name a specific person within Walgreens. According to a pamphlet enclosed with the letter, the signage and “store transition is expected to take up to three years.” The pamphlet also provides answers to common questions about the transition.
Rite Aid has sold about half of its stores. Forbes magazine reported last week that Rite Aid is restructuring itself to profitability and has:
“… transferred 625 of its stores to Walgreens Boots Alliance as part of a larger deal with the nation’s largest pharmacy chain. In all, Walgreens will over the next few months buy 1,932 stores and three distribution centers from Rite Aid for nearly $4.4 billion in cash. Rite Aid Monday said it has received $1.3 billion in cash… Before agreeing last September to buy 1,932 Rite Aids, Walgreens spent almost two years trying to buy all of Rite Aid before antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission that ultimately led to the deal’s undoing. As a smaller pharmacy chain, Rite Aid is focusing on eight states largely on the East and West Coasts…”