Rite Aid closes Bohemia, N.Y., distribution center

Camp Hill, Pa. Rite Aid on Wednesday announced that it is closing its 255,000-square-foot distribution center in Bohemia, New York. Closing is expected to be in mid to late May 2009.

Rite Aid acquired the Bohemia facility in June 2007, with its purchase of approximately 1,800 Brooks/Eckerd stores and six distribution centers. The company said at the time of the acquisition that once all of the Brooks Eckerd stores were integrated into Rite Aid, it would look for opportunities to consolidate the distribution activities of its 14 distribution centers. The decision to close the Bohemia facility is also part of Rite Aid’s initiative to improve operational efficiency throughout the company.

The 125 stores served by the Bohemia distribution center will be served by larger Rite Aid distribution centers in Philadelphia and Rome, N.Y. 

“We have an excellent and dedicated workforce at the distribution center in Bohemia, and they did an outstanding job during the integration of the Brooks/Eckerd drug store chain into Rite Aid,” stated Wilson Lester, Jr., Rite Aid’s SVP of supply chain. “This closing has no reflection on them or the quality of their work, and we will do everything we can to assist them with finding new positions.”