The owner of Safeway and other grocery brands is buying the drugstore chain Rite Aid as retailers continue to plunge deeper into health care and adjust to swiftly changing shopping habits.
Albertsons Cos. executives said Tuesday their purchase of Rite Aid’s more than 2,500 remaining stores will help the combined company become a “leader in food, health and wellness.”
The combination will have 4,892 stores and more than 4,300 pharmacies with a stronger presence on both coasts of the U.S. market.
Last week, Rite Aid announced it had sold 1,114 stores and related assets to Walgreens, including its stores in Chattanooga, for $2.4 billion. The purchase by Walgreens of one of its drug store rivals gives Walgreens about as many U.S. stores as arch-rival CVS Health, which has about 9,600 locations.
Rite Aid operates 10 stores in Hamilton County, two stores in Cleveland, Tenn., and other outlets in Dunlap, Tenn., and Tunnel Hill, Ga. Walgreens operates stores across the street from Rite Aid outlets on Highway 153 and Dayton Boulevard, among other places. But so far Walgreens has kept the Rite Aid stores and brand operating in competition with its own drug stores.