Rite Aid sales down 1.8% in Dec.

Camp Hill, Pa. Rite Aid Corp. said Monday that same-store sales fell 1.8% in December, as pharmacy revenue and sales of other items both decreased.

Rite Aid said pharmacy revenue was down 1.5% for the four weeks ended Dec. 26. Introductions of low-cost generic drugs reduced sales by 1.9%, the company said.

Front-end sales of non-pharmacy items fell 2.3%, the company said. Meanwhile, total revenue fell 3% for the month to $2.09 billion from $2.16 billion.

In the first 10 months of fiscal 2010, Rite Aid same-store sales are down 0.5% due to weakened front-end sales.

The company's fiscal year concludes at the end of February.