Rite Aid Helps Shoppers Beat Black Friday Rush with Deals Starting on Thanksgiving Day

Rite Aid shoppers won’t have to give up a good night’s sleep to get the best deals this holiday season. Holiday savings at Rite Aid begin on Thanksgiving Day.

Additionally, the 44 million members of Rite Aid's free wellness+ loyalty program will have Three Days to Save (Nov. 24-26) on great gifts and just about everything they need to get ready for the holidays. Select deals during the event include boxed holiday gift cards, wrapping paper, Christmas lights, small appliances, digital cameras, iTower speakers that dock with an iPhone or iPod and more. For sale details, see the special Nov. 24 advertising circular in newspapers nationwide or online at www.riteaid.com/savenow/. On Thanksgiving Day, nearly all of Rite Aid’s stores will be open. On Black Friday, stores open at 7 a.m. Store hours are at www.riteaid.com/stores.

"With 4,700 convenient locations and regular Thanksgiving hours, Rite Aid wants to help customers get a great start on their holiday shopping," said John Learish, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Rite Aid. "Our shoppers will also find great deals on some hot holiday gifts, including some fun finds they may not have expected to see at the neighborhood drugstore."

Hot holiday items this year include tried-and-true toy favorites – such as Pillow Pets in new licensed characters – and new toys including Lalaloopsy dolls and Wuggles, the pets that kids bring to life with stuffing. Electronics include wireless netbooks and e-tablets from Craig Electronics, plus a throw-back Atari game system featuring 60 classic games including Asteroids and Missile Command. Returning Rite Aid favorites include the Record-A-Story books, which allow long-distance relatives to send a personalized reading of a favorite story, practical hostess gifts such as Hershey’s Pot of Gold boxed chocolates, and fragrance gift sets including Heidi Klum’s new "Shine” fragrance in a three-piece set.

Rite Aid is also issuing Black Friday Survival Guides this week via e-mail to wellness+ members and to Rite Aid's more than 200,000 Facebook fans. Guides offer fun holiday shopping "survival tips” and special prices on products to help deal-seekers stay energized, focused and ready for some serious shopping. Guides contain deals for both the big day itself – water, snacks, gel shoe inserts and energy drinks – and after – headache relief products and neck pillows.

Rite Aid has long held hours on Thanksgiving Day, when customers frequently travel and may need to fill unplanned prescriptions or require temporary supplies of medications that were left at home. In the past several years, Rite Aid has also seen growing demand for its expanded selection of grocery staple foods, which include last-minute holiday meal items such as green beans, stove-top stuffing and baking supplies.

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with approximately 4,700 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2011 annual revenues of $25.2 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com.