Rite Aid Same-Store Sales Rise 2.6%

Camp Hill, Pa. Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday its same-store sales rose 2.6% in March, mostly due to the benefit of an early Easter holiday.

Front-end same-store sales rose 5.7% for the month. Pharmacy sales, which the company said were dragged down by the introduction of new generic drugs, rose 1%.

The company said same-store sales were aided by an early Easter, which fell on March 23 this year vs. April 8 last year.

Total drug store sales for the period rose 50.7% to $2.04 billion, compared with $1.36 billion a year earlier.