Former Walgreens EVP named Rite Aid president, COO
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid on Thursday named Kermit Crawford president and COO. Crawford, prior to serving as a retail and healthcare adviser and consultant for New York City-based Sycamore Partners, enjoyed a long career with Walgreens, most recently as EVP and president of pharmacy health and wellness.
"Kermit is a highly experienced retail pharmacy industry executive with exceptional leadership capabilities," stated John Standley, chairman and CEO Rite Aid. "This is an especially important time for Rite Aid as we move forward as a stand-alone company within the retail chain drug and healthcare industries and I am extremely pleased to have such an innovative and well-respected senior executive joining our Rite Aid leadership team as we move forward to successfully drive our business."
During his more than 30 years with Walgreens, Crawford held a wide range of store operations and senior management positions, including responsibility for the company's pharmacy services, which included its pharmacy benefit management services. When he retired from Walgreens in 2014, Crawford was executive vice president and president of Walgreen's pharmacy, health and wellness division, where he was responsible for all aspects of strategic, operational and financial management for the division.
Crawford also serves on the board of directors for Allstate and LifePoint Health. And he is on the Board of Councilors of the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy.
Also Thursday morning, Rite Aid posted $7.7 billion in revenues for the second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 2, representing an adjusted net loss of $15.6 million, or $0.01 per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA of $213.3 million, or 2.8% of revenues.
"While our performance for the quarter reflects a challenging reimbursement rate environment and the effects of an extended merger and asset sale process, securing regulatory clearance for the amended asset sale agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance gives us a clear path forward to realize the benefits of the transaction and implement our plans to deliver improved results," Standley said. "As we work to complete the asset sale, which will reduce our leverage and provide greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, we'll also focus on generating momentum for our business by meeting the health and wellness needs of our customers and patients while delivering an outstanding experience in our stores."
Revenues for the quarter were $7.7 billion compared to revenues of $8 billion in the prior year's second quarter, a decrease of $350.9 million or 4.4%. Retail Pharmacy Segment revenues were $6.3 billion and decreased 3.4% compared to the prior year period primarily as a result of a decrease in same store sales and reimbursement rates. Revenues in the company's Pharmacy Services Segment were $1.5 billion and decreased 8.7% compared to the prior year period, due to an election to participate in fewer Medicare Part D regions.
Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 3.4% over the prior year, consisting of a 4.6% decrease in pharmacy sales and a 0.9% decrease in front-end sales. Pharmacy sales included an approximate 189 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. The number of prescriptions filled in same stores, adjusted to 30-day equivalents, decreased 1.8% over the prior year period due in part, to exclusion from certain pharmacy networks that Rite Aid participated in the prior year. Prescription sales accounted for 67.8% of total drug store sales, and third party prescription revenue was 98.3% of pharmacy sales.
In the second quarter, the company opened 1 store, relocated 1 store, remodeled 54 stores and expanded 1 store, bringing the total number of wellness stores chainwide to 2,532. The company closed 17 stores, resulting in a total store count of 4,507 at the end of the second quarter.