Phar-Less

Phar-Mor, Inc. (Youngstown, Ohio), the drugstore chain currently restructuring its operations under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Ohio to close 65 stores.

With the closing of these stores, the retailer will focus continuing operations on its 74 remaining stores — primarily located in its core geographic areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia – that it characterizes as “high-performing,” each having average annual sales of over $10 million.

At the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection, on Sept. 24, 2001, Phar-Mor was operating 139 stores in 24 states under the Phar-Mor, Pharmhouse and The Rx Place nameplates. It also had a growing number of Super Phar-Mor stores that sold fresh and frozen food. This is not its first experience with bankruptcy protection. It declared Chapter 11 in 1992, closing more than 200 stores at the time, and emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1995.

The stores that will be closing include: 12 in New Jersey; eight in both New York and Ohio; four in both Florida and South Carolina; three in Virginia; two each in Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island; and one each in Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and West Virginia.