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Item 9B. Other Information

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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FORM 10-K

Commission File Number 1-5742

RITE AID CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (717) 761-2633

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o    No o

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of "Accelerated Filer" and "Large Accelerated Filer" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o    No ý

         The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the closing price at which such stock was sold on the New York Stock Exchange on August 29, 2009 was approximately $996,928,866. For purposes of this calculation, executive officers, directors and 5% shareholders are deemed to be affiliates of the registrant.

         As of April 20, 2010 the registrant had outstanding 887,670,198 shares of common stock, par value $1.00 per share.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

         Portions of the proxy statement for the registrant's annual meeting of stockholders to be held on June 23, 2010 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This report, as well as our other public filings or public statements, include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are often identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will" and similar expressions and include references to assumptions and relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies.

        Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

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our high level of indebtedness;



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our ability to make interest and principal payments on our debt and satisfy the other covenants contained in our senior secured credit facility and other debt agreements;



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general economic conditions (including the impact of continued high unemployment and changing consumer shopping behavior), inflation and interest rate movements;



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our ability to improve the operating performance of our stores in accordance with our long term strategy;



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our ability to realize same store sales growth;



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our ability to hire and retain pharmacists and other store personnel;



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the efforts of private and public third party payors to reduce prescription drug reimbursement and encourage mail order;



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competitive pricing pressures, including aggressive promotional activity from our competitors;



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decisions to close additional stores and distribution centers, which could result in further charges to our operating statement;



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our ability to manage expenses;



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our ability to realize the benefits from actions to further reduce costs and investment in working capital;



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continued consolidation of the drugstore industry;



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changes in state or federal legislation or regulations, and the impact of healthcare reform;



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the outcome of lawsuits and governmental investigations; and



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other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC").

        We undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this report. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Overview and Factors Affecting Our Future Prospects" included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

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PART I

Item 1.    Business

Overview

        We are the third largest retail drugstore chain in the United States based on revenues and number of stores. We operate our drugstores in 31 states across the country and in the District of Columbia. As of February 27, 2010, we operated 4,780 stores.

        In our stores, we sell prescription drugs and a wide assortment of other merchandise, which we call "front end" products. In fiscal 2010, prescription drug sales accounted for 67.9% of our total sales. We believe that our pharmacy operations will continue to represent a significant part of our business due to favorable industry trends, including an aging population, increased life expectancy, anticipated growth in the federally funded Medicare Part D prescription program as "baby boomers" begin to enroll in 2011, expanded coverage for uninsured Americans as the result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the discovery of new and better drug therapies. We offer approximately 25,000 front end products, which accounted for the remaining 32.1% of our total sales in fiscal 2010. Front end products include over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, household items, beverages, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise and numerous other everyday and convenience products, as well as photo processing. We attempt to distinguish our stores from other national chain drugstores, in part, through our private brands and our strategic alliance with GNC, a leading retailer of vitamin and mineral supplements. We offer approximately 3,300 products under the Rite Aid private brand, which contributed approximately 15.0% of our front end sales in the categories where private brand products were offered in fiscal 2010.

        The overall average size of each store in our chain is approximately 12,500 square feet. The average size of our stores is larger in the western United States. As of February 27, 2010, approximately 59% of our stores are freestanding; approximately 50% of our stores include a drive-thru pharmacy; approximately 40% include one-hour photo shops; and approximately 40% include a GNC store-within-Rite Aid-store.

        Our headquarters are located at 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011, and our telephone number is (717) 761-2633. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol of "RAD." We were incorporated in 1968 and are a Delaware corporation.

Industry Trends

        The rate of pharmacy sales growth in the United States in recent years has slowed driven by the decline in new blockbuster drugs, a longer FDA approval process, drug safety concerns, higher copays, the loss of individual health insurance as unemployment rises and an increase in the use of generic (non-brand name) drugs, which are less expensive but generate higher gross margins. However, we expect prescription sales to grow in the coming years due to the aging population, increased life expectancy, "baby boomers" becoming eligible for the federally funded Medicare prescription program and new drug therapies. We expect that recently passed health care legislation could afford access for more patients to prescriptions. Furthermore, we expect the estimated additional 32 million people who will be covered by health insurance in 2014, and the closing of the "donut hole" in Medicare Part D to be good for our business.

        Generic prescription drugs help lower overall costs for customers and third party payors. We believe the utilization of existing generic pharmaceuticals will continue to increase. Further, a significant number of new generics are expected to be introduced in the next few years as many popular branded drugs are scheduled to lose patent protection. The gross profit from a generic drug prescription in the retail drugstore industry is greater than the gross profit from a brand drug prescription.

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        The retail drugstore industry is highly competitive and has been experiencing consolidation. We believe that the continued consolidation of the drugstore industry, continued new store openings, increased competition from internet based providers and aggressive generic pricing programs at competitors such as Wal-Mart and various supermarket chains will further increase competitive pressures in the industry. The pharmacy business has become increasingly promotional, which contributes to additional competitive pressures.

        The retail drugstore industry relies significantly on third party payors. Third party payors, including the Medicare Part D plans and the state sponsored Medicaid agencies, at times change the eligibility requirements of participants or reduce certain reimbursement rates. These evaluations and resulting changes and reductions are expected to continue. When third party payors, including the Medicare Part D program and state sponsored Medicaid agencies, reduce the number of participants or reduce their reimbursement rates, sales and margins in the industry could be reduced, and profitability of the industry could be adversely affected. These possible adverse effects can be partially or entirely offset by controlling expenses, dispensing more higher margin generics and dispensing more prescriptions overall. The impact of AMP and the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is still being determined.

Strategy

        Our objectives and goals are to grow profitable sales by unlocking the value of our diverse store base, improve customer loyalty by improving customer and associate satisfaction, generate positive cash flow by taking unnecessary costs out of the business and improving operating efficiencies and reduce debt via the generation of operating cash flow and improvements in working capital management. We believe that by executing on these goals we can improve stockholder value. The following paragraphs describe in more detail some of the components of our strategies that we believe will result in the achievement of these goals and objectives:

        Grow profitable sales by unlocking the value of our diverse store base.    As of February 27, 2010 we have 4,780 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. These stores are in diverse markets, with many being in urban, high traffic areas and many being in lower traffic suburban or rural areas. In the past we have operated our stores with consistent standards for store staffing, field management staffing, distribution center deliveries, advertising, product assortment and pricing. We are continuing the process of stratifying these stores into specific groups and further refining the business plans for each group. The plans will ultimately result in different subsets of stores having standards for labor, product assortment, pricing and distribution center deliveries that are best suited for that group of stores. Our focus will be on merchandising and sales growth opportunities, particularly in low volume and urban stores. We believe that these changes will improve profitability, particularly at our lower volume stores.

        Improve sales by improving customer loyalty.    We believe that our greatest opportunity to improve sales is by ensuring that we have a base of loyal, repeat customers, particularly in the pharmacy business. We believe that the best way to obtain loyal customers is to show that Rite Aid will help them lead happier, healthier lives. We believe that excellent customer service helps us achieve that goal and we believe that improving the associate work experience will translate into better customer service. We have several programs that are also designed to improve customer loyalty, including the following:

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We launched our wellness+ loyalty card program in four pilot markets in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. wellness+ provides many benefits for cardholders based on accumulating points for front end and prescription purchases. We rolled out the program to the rest of the chain on April 18, 2010. Based on the pilot markets, we are expecting enrollment of 15 to 20 million members at maturity.

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We have several initiatives underway to simplify work processes in our stores to enable better customer service.



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We continue to offer our free Rx Savings Card, which provides cost savings on all prescription drugs to patients with limited or no insurance.



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We offer an automated refill option for customers with maintenance prescriptions, and also make courtesy refill reminder phone calls.

        In the front end business, we plan to aggressively grow our private brand offerings, as we believe that our private brand products offer cost effective alternatives to national brand products that are very attractive during difficult economic times. We are rolling out our new private brand architecture with strong promotional support, good price positioning and continued development of new items, which will help us grow private brand sales and meet the needs of today's customers. We expect this will increase our private brand penetration in categories such as health and beauty products, food and other consumables, household goods and baby products by approximately 75 basis points from approximately 15.00% to approximately 15.75% by the end of fiscal 2011. Additionally, we also have several other front end initiatives planned, including merchandising and sales growth, and shrink reduction. We also plan to add 105 new GNC stores-within-Rite Aid-stores.

        In the pharmacy business, we plan to increase the number of immunizing pharmacists from 2,000 in fiscal 2010 to 6,000 in fiscal 2011, which will increase our immunizing presence in many of our top markets. Additionally, we plan to grow script count by continuing to improve customer service, growing our Rx savings program, purchasing prescription files and attracting and retaining high value pharmacy customers through our wellness+ loyalty program.

        Generate positive cash flow by continuing to take unnecessary costs out of the business.    We believe we have an opportunity to better leverage our sales by making changes to our cost structure. We have numerous cost reduction initiatives in place or planned for fiscal 2011, including the following:

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We plan to make additional changes to staffing, marketing and merchandising, and distribution for some of our lower volume stores, which we believe will improve store profitability without sacrificing sales or customer service.



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We have centralized all non-merchandise purchasing into a centralized Indirect Procurement function. This group is responsible for reviewing all purchase contracts and arrangements and utilizes several tools, including on-line auctions, to control the cost of these services.



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We are continuing to examine our administrative headcount requirements.



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We expect to reduce supply chain costs by further reducing inventory, improving work processes in the distribution center network, and re-assigning which distribution centers service particular stores.

        We believe that these changes, as well as others, will enable us to improve our operating profitability without sacrificing sales and customer service.

        Reduce debt.    We are highly leveraged and believe that our leverage puts us at a competitive disadvantage. We plan to continue to reduce debt in fiscal 2011 by executing on the operating initiatives discussed above, as well as by doing the following:

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We have taken measures to reduce our investment in inventory, including steps to reduce the number of SKU's, reduce our backroom inventories and reduce store safety stock in certain categories. The continuation of these programs, along with planned improvements in our ad ordering system and sales forecasting techniques, should further reduce our inventory levels, which should increase available working capital and improve operating efficiencies.

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We plan to closely manage our capital expenditures in fiscal 2011, as we did in fiscal 2010, when we significantly reduced capital expenditures after investing a significant amount of capital dollars into the Brooks Eckerd stores during fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009. Our targeted capital expenditures for fiscal 2011 are $250 million, with a $50 million allocation for prescription file buys.

        We believe that these initiatives, along with other improvements in cash flow from operations, will enable us to continue to reduce debt in fiscal 2011.

Products and Services

        Sales of prescription drugs represented approximately 67.9%, 67.2%, and 66.7% of our total sales in fiscal years 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. In fiscal years 2010, 2009 and 2008, prescription drug sales were $17.4 billion, $17.6 billion, and $16.2 billion, respectively. See "Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated financial statements.

        We sell approximately 25,000 different types of non-prescription, or front end products. The types and number of front end products in each store vary, and selections are based on customer needs and preferences and available space. No single front end product category contributed significantly to our sales during fiscal 2010. Our principal classes of products in fiscal 2010 were the following:

        We offer approximately 3,300 products under the Rite Aid private brand, which contributed approximately 15.0% of our front end sales in the categories where private brand products were offered in fiscal 2010. We intend to increase the number of private brand products, revamp and expand our private brand architecture.

        We have a strategic alliance with GNC under which we have opened 1,908 GNC "stores-within-Rite Aid-stores" as of February 27, 2010 and a contractual commitment to open an additional 444 stores by December 2014. We incorporate the GNC store-within-Rite Aid-store concept into our new and relocated stores. GNC is a leading nationwide retailer of vitamin and mineral supplements, personal care, fitness and other health related products.

Technology

        All of our stores are integrated into a common information system, which enables our customers to fill or refill prescriptions in any of our stores throughout the country, reduces chances of adverse drug interactions, and enables our pharmacists to fill prescriptions more accurately and efficiently. This system can be expanded to accommodate new stores. Our customers may also order prescription refills over the Internet through www.riteaid.com, or over the phone through our telephonic automated refill systems for pick up at a Rite Aid store. As of February 27, 2010, we had a total of 997 automated pharmacy dispensing units, which are linked to our pharmacists' computers that fill and label prescription drug orders, in high volume stores. The efficiency of these units allows our pharmacists to spend more time consulting with our customers. Additionally, each of our stores employs point-of-sale technology that supports sales analysis and recognition of customer trends. This same point-of-sale technology facilitates the maintenance of perpetual inventory records which, together with our sales analysis, drives our automated inventory replenishment process.

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Suppliers

        During fiscal 2010, we purchased brand pharmaceuticals and some generic pharmaceuticals, which amounted to approximately 93.5% of the dollar volume of our prescription drugs, from a single wholesaler, McKesson Corp ("McKesson"), under a contract, which runs through April 1, 2013. Under the contract, with limited exceptions, we are required to purchase all of our branded pharmaceutical products from McKesson. If our relationship with McKesson was disrupted, we could temporarily have difficulty filling prescriptions until we executed a replacement wholesaler agreement or developed and implemented self-distribution processes, which could negatively affect our business.

        We purchase almost all of our generic (non-brand name) pharmaceuticals directly from manufacturers. We believe the losses of any one generic supplier would not have a material impact on our business.

        We purchase our non-pharmaceutical merchandise from numerous manufacturers and wholesalers. We believe that competitive sources are readily available for substantially all of the non-pharmaceutical merchandise we carry and that the loss of any one supplier would not have a material effect on our business.

        We sell private brand and co-branded products that generally are supplied by numerous competitive sources. The Rite Aid and GNC co-branded PharmAssure vitamin and mineral supplement products and the GNC branded vitamin and mineral supplement products that we sell in our stores are developed by GNC, and along with our Rite Aid brand vitamin and mineral supplements, are manufactured by GNC.

Customers and Third Party Payors

        During fiscal 2010, our stores filled approximately 300 million prescriptions and served an average of 2.2 million customers per day. The loss of any one customer would not have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

        In fiscal 2010, 96.2% of our pharmacy sales were to customers covered by third party payors (such as insurance companies, prescription benefit management companies, government agencies, private employers or other managed care providers) that agree to pay for all or a portion of a customer's eligible prescription purchases based on negotiated and contracted reimbursement rates. During fiscal 2010, the top five third party payors accounted for approximately 41.4% of our total sales, the largest of which represented 14.4% of our total sales. During fiscal 2010, Medicaid related sales were approximately 6.9% of our total sales, of which the largest single Medicaid payor was approximately 2.0% of our total sales. During fiscal 2010, approximately 16.7% of our pharmacy sales were to customers covered by Medicare Part D.

Competition

        The retail drugstore industry is highly competitive. We compete with, among others, retail drugstore chains, independently owned drugstores, supermarkets, mass merchandisers, discount stores, dollar stores and mail order pharmacies. We compete on the basis of store location and convenient access, customer service, product selection and price. We believe continued consolidation of the drugstore industry, the aggressive discounting of generic drugs by supermarkets and mass merchandisers and the increase of promotional incentives to drive prescription sales will further increase competitive pressures in the industry.

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Marketing and Advertising

        In fiscal 2010, marketing and advertising expense was approximately $375 million, which was spent primarily on weekly circular advertising. Our marketing and advertising activities centered primarily on the following:

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Product price promotions to draw customers to our stores;



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Our wellness+ loyalty program, which rolled out to the rest of the chain April 18, 2010 will be the largest marketing expenditure that we have made in several years;



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Initiatives to grow pharmacy sales, including a free Rx Savings Card, which provides significant cost savings on generic and brand prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to patients with limited or no insurance;



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Emphasis on the value of Rite Aid brand products;



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Support of specific initiatives and stores, including competitor market intrusion and prescription file buys; and



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Our vision to be the customer's first choice for health and wellness products, services and information.

        Under the umbrella of our "With Us It's Personal" brand positioning, we promoted educational programs focusing on specific health conditions and incentives for patients to transfer their prescriptions to Rite Aid. We are also emphasizing our automated courtesy refill service. We believe all of these programs will help us improve customer satisfaction and grow profitable sales.

Associates

        We believe that our relationships with our associates are good. As of February 27, 2010, we had approximately 97,500 associates; 13% were pharmacists, 44% were part-time and 26% were unionized. Associate satisfaction is critical to the success of our strategy. We have surveyed our associates to obtain feedback on various employment-related topics, including job satisfaction and their understanding of our core values and mission. We have also instituted an internal group, consisting of managers and staff from all components of our business that is responsible for using feedback from associates throughout the Company to create a better work environment.

        The national shortage of pharmacists has eased over the past 12 months, resulting in more licensed pharmacists and new graduates seeking positions in many markets. Although this is occurring nationally, there is still an unmet demand for pharmacists in certain regions of the country that are challenging to staff. We continue to offer competitive compensation plans to retain and attract current and future pharmacists, work with Colleges of Pharmacy across the U.S. to recruit both pharmacy interns and pharmacy graduates and conduct a recruiting program for international pharmacists.

Research and Development

        We do not make significant expenditures for research and development.

Licenses, Trademarks and Patents

        The Rite Aid name is our most significant trademark and the most important factor in marketing our stores and private brand products. We hold licenses to sell beer, wine and liquor, cigarettes and lottery tickets. As part of our strategic alliance with GNC, we have a license to operate GNC "stores-within-Rite Aid-stores." We also hold licenses to operate our pharmacies and our distribution facilities. Collectively, these licenses are material to our operations.

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Seasonality

        We experience moderate seasonal fluctuations in our results of operations concentrated in the first and fourth fiscal quarters as the result of the concentration of the cough, cold and flu season and the holidays. We tailor certain front end merchandise to capitalize on holidays and seasons. We increase our inventory levels during our third fiscal quarter in anticipation of the seasonal fluctuations described above. Our results of operations in the fourth and first fiscal quarters may fluctuate based upon the timing and severity of the cough, cold and flu season, both of which are unpredictable.

Regulation

        Our business is subject to federal, state, and local government laws, regulations and administrative practices. We must comply with numerous provisions regulating health and safety, equal employment opportunity, minimum wage and licensing for the sale of drugs, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and other products. In addition we must comply with regulations pertaining to product content, labeling, dating and pricing.

        Pursuant to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 ("OBRA") and comparable state regulations, our pharmacists are required to offer counseling, without additional charge, to our customers about medication, dosage, delivery systems, common side effects and other information deemed significant by the pharmacists and may have a duty to warn customers regarding any potential adverse effects of a prescription drug if the warning could reduce or negate such effect.

        The appropriate state boards of pharmacy must license our pharmacies and pharmacists. Our pharmacies and distribution centers are also registered with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and are subject to Federal Drug Enforcement Agency regulations relative to our pharmacy operations, including regulations governing purchasing, storing and dispensing of controlled substances. Applicable licensing and registration requirements require our compliance with various state statutes, rules and/or regulations. If we were to violate any applicable statute, rule or regulation, our licenses and registrations could be suspended or revoked or we could be subject to fines or penalties. Any such violation could also damage our reputation and brand.

        In recent years, an increasing number of legislative proposals have been enacted (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), introduced or proposed in Congress and in some state legislatures that affect or would affect major changes in the healthcare system, either nationally or at the state level. The legislative initiatives include changes in reimbursement levels, changes in qualified participants, changes in drug safety regulations and e-prescribing. We cannot predict the timing of enactment of any such proposals to the extent not yet approved or the long-term outcome or effect of legislation from these efforts on our business.

        Our pharmacy business is subject to patient privacy and other obligations, including corporate, pharmacy and associate responsibility imposed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. As a covered entity, we are required to implement privacy standards, train our associates on the permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information, provide a notice of privacy practice to our pharmacy customers and permit pharmacy customers to access and amend their records and receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information. Failure to properly adhere to these requirements could result in the imposition of civil as well as criminal penalties.

        We are also subject to laws governing our relationship with our associates, including minimum wage requirements, overtime, working conditions and unionizing efforts. Increases in the federal minimum wage rate, associate benefit costs or other costs related to associates could adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, there are currently a number of legislative proposals being considered that could impact the ability of workers to unionize. We cannot assure you if or when any such proposal may be enacted or the impact any such legislation could have on our operations or cost structure.

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        In addition, in connection with the ownership and operations of our stores, distribution centers and other sites, we are subject to laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and health and safety matters, including those governing the management and disposal of hazardous substances and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Violations or liabilities under these laws and regulations as a result of our current or former operations or historical activities at our sites, such as gasoline service stations and dry cleaners, could result in significant costs.

Corporate Governance and Internet Address

        We recognize that good corporate governance is an important means of protecting the interests of our stockholders, associates, customers, and the community. We have closely monitored and implemented relevant legislative and regulatory corporate governance reforms, including provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley"), the rules of the SEC interpreting and implementing Sarbanes-Oxley, and the corporate governance listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

        Our corporate governance information and materials, including our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, Corporate Governance Guidelines, the charters of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee, our Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers, our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and our Related Person Transaction Policy are posted on the corporate governance section of our website at www.riteaid.com and are available in print upon request to Rite Aid Corporation, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Our Board will regularly review corporate governance developments and modify these materials and practices as warranted.

        Our website also provides information on how to contact us and other items of interest to investors. We make available on our website, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to these reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file these reports with, or furnish them to, the SEC.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Factors Affecting our Future Prospects

        Set forth below is a description of certain risk factors which we believe may be relevant to an understanding of us and our business. Security holders are cautioned that these and other factors may affect future performance and cause actual results to differ from those which may be anticipated. See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition

Current economic conditions may adversely affect our industry, business and results of operations.

        The United States economy is continuing to feel the impact of the economic downturn that began in late 2007, and the future economic environment may continue to be less favorable than that of previous years. This economic uncertainty has and could further lead to reduced consumer spending for the foreseeable future. If consumer spending continues to decrease, we will likely not be able to improve our same store sales. In addition, reduced or flat consumer spending may drive us and our competitors to offer additional products at promotional prices, which would have a negative impact on our gross profit. A continued softening or slow recovery in consumer spending may adversely affect our industry, business and results of operations. Reduced revenues as a result of decreased consumer spending may also reduce our liquidity and otherwise hinder our ability to implement our long term strategy.

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We are highly leveraged. Our substantial indebtedness could limit cash flow available for our operations and could adversely affect our ability to service debt or obtain additional financing if necessary.

        We had, as of February 27, 2010, $6.4 billion of outstanding indebtedness and stockholders' deficit of $1.7 billion. We also had additional borrowing capacity under our existing $1.175 billion senior secured revolving credit facility of approximately $936.0 million, net of outstanding letters of credit of $159.0 million. Our earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for fiscal 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006 by $498.4 million, $2.6 billion, $340.6 million, $50.8 million and $23.1 million, respectively.

        Our high level of indebtedness will continue to restrict our operations. Among other things, our indebtedness will:

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limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the markets in which we compete;



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place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors with less indebtedness;



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render us more vulnerable to general adverse economic, regulatory and industry conditions; and



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require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to service our debt.

        Our ability to meet our cash requirements, including our debt service obligations, is dependent upon our ability to substantially improve our operating performance, which will be subject to general economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. We cannot provide assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fund our cash requirements and debt service obligations.

        We believe we have adequate sources of liquidity to meet our anticipated requirements for working capital, debt service and capital expenditures through fiscal 2011 and have no material maturities prior to September 2012. However, if our operating results, cash flow or capital resources prove inadequate, or if interest rates rise significantly, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt and other obligations or otherwise be required to delay our planned activities. If we are unable to service our debt or experience a significant reduction in our liquidity, we could be forced to reduce or delay planned capital expenditures and other initiatives, sell assets, restructure or refinance our debt or seek additional equity capital, and we may be unable to take any of these actions on satisfactory terms or in a timely manner. Further, any of these actions may not be sufficient to allow us to service our debt obligations or may have an adverse impact on our business. Our existing debt agreements limit our ability to take certain of these actions. Our failure to generate sufficient operating cash flow to pay our debts or refinance our indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on us.

Borrowings under our senior secured credit facility are based upon variable rates of interest, which could result in higher expense in the event of increases in interest rates.

        As of February 27, 2010, approximately $2.1 billion of our outstanding indebtedness bore interest at a rate that varies depending upon the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), subject, in the case of the Tranche 3 Term Loan, senior secured loan due June 2014; the Tranche 4 Term Loan, senior secured loan due June 2015; and the senior secured revolving credit facility, to a minimum LIBOR floor of 300 basis points. Our Tranche 2 Term Loan, senior secured loan due June 2014, is most subject to LIBOR fluctuations because there is no floor. If we borrow additional amounts under our senior secured revolving credit facility, the interest rate on those borrowings will also vary depending upon LIBOR. If LIBOR rises, the interest rates on outstanding debt will increase. Therefore an increase in LIBOR would increase our interest payment obligations under those loans and have a negative effect on our cash flow and financial condition. We currently do not maintain hedging contracts that would limit our exposure to variable rates of interest.

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The covenants in the instruments that govern our current indebtedness may limit our operating and financial flexibility.

        The covenants in the instruments that govern our current indebtedness limit our ability to:

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incur debt and liens;



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pay dividends;



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make redemptions and repurchases of capital stock;



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make loans and investments;



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prepay, redeem or repurchase debt;



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engage in acquisitions, consolidations, asset dispositions, sale-leaseback transactions and affiliate transactions;



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change our business;



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amend some of our debt and other material agreements;



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issue and sell capital stock of subsidiaries;



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restrict distributions from subsidiaries; and



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grant negative pledges to other creditors.

        In addition, our credit facility has a fixed charge coverage ratio test which increases from 1.05 to 1.10 beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The senior secured credit facility only requires us to maintain the minimum fixed charge coverage ratio once availability on the revolving credit facility is less than $150 million. If we are unable to meet the terms of the financial covenants or if we breach any of these covenants, a default could result under one or more of these agreements. A default, if not waived by our lenders, could result in the acceleration of our outstanding indebtedness and cause our debt to become immediately due and payable. If acceleration occurs, we would not be able to repay our debt and it is unlikely that we would be able to borrow sufficient additional funds to refinance such debt. Even if new financing is made available to us, it may not be available on terms acceptable to us. If we obtain modifications of our agreements, or are required to obtain waivers of defaults, we may incur significant fees and transaction costs or become subject to more stringent covenants and restrictions on our operations.

Our stockholders will experience dilution if we issue additional common stock.

        Subject to any required approval under the Stockholder Agreement (as defined below), we are generally not restricted from issuing additional shares of our common shares or preferred stock, including, subject to the terms of our outstanding debt instruments, any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common shares or preferred stock or any substantially similar securities, whether for cash, as part of incentive compensation or in refinancing transactions. Any additional future issuances of common stock will reduce the percentage of our common stock owned by investors who do not participate in such issuances. In most circumstances, stockholders will not be entitled to vote on whether or not we issue additional shares of common stock. The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of issuances of a large number of shares of our common stock or the perception that such issuances could occur.

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Subject to certain limitations, Jean Coutu Group may sell Rite Aid common stock at any time, which could cause our stock price to decrease.

        The shares of Rite Aid common stock that the Jean Coutu Group currently holds are generally restricted, but Jean Coutu Group may sell these shares under certain circumstances, including pursuant to a registered underwritten public offering under the Securities Act or in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act. We have entered into a registration rights agreement with Jean Coutu Group, which will give Jean Coutu Group the right to require us to register all or a portion of its shares at any time (subject to certain exceptions). The sale of a substantial number of our shares by Jean Coutu Group or our other stockholders within a short period of time could cause our stock price to decrease, make it more difficult for us to raise funds through future offerings of Rite Aid common stock or acquire other businesses using Rite Aid common stock as consideration.

We are in compliance with all New York Stock Exchange continued listing requirements. However, if we do not continue to maintain compliance with such requirements, our common stock may be delisted.

        On July 1, 2009, we were notified by the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that, as of July 1, 2009, we regained compliance with the NYSE share price listing requirement. We are in compliance with all NYSE listing rules, have actively been taking steps to maintain our listing and expect our efforts to maintain our NYSE listing will be successful. However, there can be no assurance that we will maintain compliance with the NYSE minimum share price rule or other continued listing requirements. In the event of a delisting, holders of our 8.5% convertible notes due 2015 (the "8.5% Convertible Notes") could require us to repurchase their 8.5% Convertible Notes, which would result in a default under our senior credit facility. Although there can be no assurance that we would be able to do so, we may seek to refinance or otherwise acquire the 8.5% Convertible Notes to avoid such a scenario, as the amendment to our Credit Agreement permits us to do under certain circumstances.

Risks Related to Our Operations

We need to continue to improve our operations in order to improve our financial condition, but our operations will not improve if we cannot continue to effectively implement our business strategy or if our strategy is negatively affected by worsening economic conditions.

        We have not yet achieved the sales productivity level of our major competitors. We believe that improving the sales of existing stores is important to improving profitability and operating cash flow. If we are not successful in implementing our strategies, including our efforts to further reduce costs, or if our strategies are not effective, we may not be able to improve our operations. In addition, any further adverse change or continued downturn in general economic conditions or major industries can adversely affect drug benefit plans and reduce our pharmacy sales. Adverse changes in general economic conditions affect consumer buying practices and consequently reduce our sales of front end products, and cause a decrease in our profitability. Failure to continue to improve operations or a continued decline in major industries or general economic conditions would adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and our ability to make principal or interest payments on our debt.

For so long as Jean Coutu Group (and, subject to certain conditions, certain members of the Coutu family) maintain certain levels of Rite Aid stock ownership, Jean Coutu Group (and, subject to certain conditions, certain members of the Coutu family) could exercise significant influence over us.

        At February 27, 2010 Jean Coutu Group owns approximately 27.5% of the voting power of Rite Aid. As a result, Jean Coutu Group (and, subject to certain conditions, certain members of the Coutu family) generally has the ability to significantly influence the outcome of any matter submitted for the vote of our stockholders. The stockholder agreement (the "Stockholder Agreement") that we entered into at the time of the Brooks Eckerd acquisition provides that Jean Coutu Group (and, subject to

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certain conditions, certain members of the Coutu family) designate four of the fourteen members of our board of directors, subject to adjustment based on its ownership position in us. Accordingly, Jean Coutu Group generally is able to significantly influence the outcome of all matters that come before our board of directors. As a result of its significant interest in us, Jean Coutu Group may have the power, subject to applicable law (including the fiduciary duties of the directors designated by Jean Coutu Group), to significantly influence actions that might be favorable to Jean Coutu Group, but not necessarily favorable to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the ownership position and governance rights of Jean Coutu Group could discourage a third party from proposing a change of control or other strategic transaction concerning us. Additionally, the Stockholder Agreement provides Jean Coutu Group with certain preemptive rights, the ability to maintain their ownership percentage in Rite Aid and in certain circumstances, requires two-thirds of our Board to approve certain transactions.

Conflicts of interest may arise between us and Jean Coutu Group, which may be resolved in a manner that adversely affects our business, financial condition or results of operations.

        Following the Brooks Eckerd acquisition, Jean Coutu Group has continued its Canadian operations but no longer has any operations in the United States, and we currently have no operations in Canada. Despite the lack of geographic overlap, conflicts of interest may arise between us and Jean Coutu Group in areas relating to past, ongoing and future relationships, including corporate opportunities, potential acquisitions or financing transactions, sales or other dispositions by Jean Coutu Group of its interests in us and the exercise by Jean Coutu Group of its influence over our management and affairs.

        As a result of the Brooks Eckerd acquisition, a number of the directors on our board of directors are persons who are also officers or directors of Jean Coutu Group or its subsidiaries. Service as a director or officer of both Rite Aid and Jean Coutu Group or its other subsidiaries could create conflicts of interest if such directors or officers are faced with decisions that could have materially different implications for Rite Aid and for Jean Coutu Group. Apart from the conflicts of interest policy contained in our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and applicable to our directors, we and Jean Coutu Group have not established any formal procedures for us and Jean Coutu Group to resolve potential or actual conflicts of interest between us. There can be no assurance that any of the foregoing conflicts will be resolved in a manner that does not adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are dependent on our management team, and the loss of their services could have a material adverse effect on our business and the results of our operations or financial condition.

        The success of our business is materially dependent upon the continued services of our executive management team. The loss of key personnel could have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations, financial condition or cash flows. Additionally, we cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain other skilled personnel in the future.

We are substantially dependent on a single wholesaler of branded pharmaceutical products to sell products to us on satisfactory terms. A disruption in this relationship may have a negative effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.

        We purchase all of our brand prescription drugs from a single wholesaler, McKesson, pursuant to a contract that runs through April 1, 2013. Pharmacy sales represented approximately 67.9% of our total sales during fiscal 2010, and, therefore, our relationship with McKesson is important to us. Any significant disruptions in our relationship with McKesson would make it difficult for us to continue to operate our business until we executed a replacement wholesaler agreement or developed and implemented self-distribution processes. There can be no assurance that we would be able to find a replacement wholesaler on a timely basis or that such a wholesaler would be able to fulfill our demands

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on similar terms, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Risks Related to Our Industry

The markets in which we operate are very competitive and further increases in competition could adversely affect us.

        We face intense competition with local, regional and national companies, including other drugstore chains, independently owned drugstores, supermarkets, mass merchandisers, discount stores, dollar stores, mail order and internet pharmacies. Our industry also faces growing competition from companies who import drugs directly from other countries, such as Canada, as well as from large-scale retailers that offer generic drugs at a substantial discount. Some of our competitors have or may merge with or acquire pharmaceutical services companies or pharmacy benefit managers, which may further increase competition. We may not be able to effectively compete against them because our existing or potential competitors may have financial and other resources that are superior to ours. In addition, we may be at a competitive disadvantage because we are more highly leveraged than our competitors. The ability of our stores to achieve profitability depends on their ability to achieve a critical mass of loyal, repeat customers. We believe that the continued consolidation of the drugstore industry will further increase competitive pressures in the industry. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to effectively compete in our markets or increase our sales volume in response to further increased competition.

Drug benefit plan sponsors and third party payors could change their plan eligibility criteria and further encourage or require the use of mail-order prescriptions which could decrease our sales and reduce our margins and have a material adverse effect on our business.

        An adverse trend for drugstore retailing has been initiatives to contain rising healthcare costs leading to the rapid growth in mail-order prescription processors. These prescription distribution methods have grown in market share relative to drugstores as a result of the rapid rise in drug costs experienced in recent years and are predicted to continue to rise. Mail-order prescription distribution methods are perceived by employers and insurers as being less costly than traditional distribution methods and are being encouraged, and, in some cases, required, by third party pharmacy benefit managers, employers and unions that administer benefits. As a result, some labor unions and employers are requiring, and others may encourage or require, that their members or employees obtain medications from mail-order pharmacies which offer drug prescriptions at prices lower than we are able to offer.

        Another adverse trend for drugstore retailing has been for drug benefit plan sponsors and third party payors to change their plan eligibility requirements resulting in fewer beneficiaries covered and a reduction in the number of prescriptions allowed.

        Mail-order prescription distribution and drug benefit plan eligibility changes have negatively affected sales for traditional chain drug retailers, including us, and we expect such negative effect to continue in the future. There can be no assurance that our efforts to offset the effects of mail order and eligibility changes will be successful nor can we predict whether the recently adopted health care reform legislation will exacerbate this risk.

The availability of pharmacy drugs is subject to governmental regulations.

        The continued conversion of various prescription drugs, including the planned conversion of a number of popular medications, to over-the-counter medications may reduce our pharmacy sales and customers may seek to purchase such medications at non-pharmacy stores. Also, if the rate at which new prescription drugs become available slows or if new prescription drugs that are introduced into the market fail to achieve popularity, our pharmacy sales may be adversely affected. The withdrawal of

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certain drugs from the market or concerns about the safety or effectiveness of certain drugs or negative publicity surrounding certain categories of drugs may also have a negative effect on our pharmacy sales or may cause shifts in our pharmacy or front end product mix.

Changes in third party reimbursement levels for prescription drugs and changes in industry pricing benchmarks could reduce our margins and have a material adverse effect on our business.

        Sales of prescription drugs reimbursed by third party payors, including the Medicare Part D plans and state sponsored Medicaid agencies, are 96.2% of our business. We expect our pharmacy gross margin to be lower in fiscal 2011 than previously experienced due to continued reimbursement rate pressures, fewer new generics, fewer price reductions on existing generics and the impact of the recently implemented Average Wholesale Price ("AWP") adjustments on our Medicaid business.

        In conjunction with a class action settlement with two entities that publish the average wholesale price (AWP) of pharmaceuticals, the methodology used to calculate the AWP, a pricing reference widely used in the pharmacy industry, reduced the AWP for many prescription drugs effective September 26, 2009. We have reached understandings with most of our third party payors to adjust reimbursements to correct for this change in methodology, but many state Medicaid programs that utilize AWP as a pricing reference have not taken action to make similar adjustments, which is expected to result in reduced Medicaid reimbursement levels in fiscal 2011 as we have experienced in the latter part of fiscal 2010. In fiscal 2010, approximately 6.9% of our revenues were from state sponsored Medicaid agencies, the largest of which was approximately 2.0% of our total sales.

        Additionally, certain provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) sought to reduce federal spending by altering the Medicaid reimbursement formula for multi-source (i.e., generic) drugs (AMP). Those reductions did not go into effect; however, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010 (the Patient Care Act) enacted a modified reimbursement formula for multi-source drugs. The modified formula, when implemented, may reduce Medicaid reimbursements. There have also been a number of other recent proposals and enactments by the Federal government and various states to reduce Medicare Part D and Medicaid reimbursement levels in response to budget problems. We expect other similar proposals in the future.

        The continued efforts of the Federal government, health maintenance organizations, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit management companies, other State and local government entities, and other third-party payors to reduce prescription drug costs and pharmacy reimbursement rates, as well as litigation relating to how drugs are priced, may impact our profitability. In addition, some of these entities may offer pricing terms that we may not be willing to accept or otherwise restrict our participation in their networks of pharmacy providers.

        Although we expect continued improvements in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues to somewhat mitigate all of these factors above, if our pharmacy gross margin continues to decrease, it would adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We are subject to governmental regulations, procedures and requirements; our noncompliance or a significant regulatory change could adversely affect our business, the results of our operations or our financial condition.

        Our business is subject to federal, state and local government laws, regulations and administrative practices. We must comply with numerous provisions regulating health and safety, equal employment opportunity, minimum wage and licensing for the sale of drugs, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and other products. In addition, we must comply with regulations pertaining to product labeling, dating and pricing. Our pharmacy business is subject to local registrations in the states where our pharmacies are located, applicable Medicare and Medicaid regulations and prohibitions against paid referrals of patients. Failure to properly adhere to these and other applicable regulations could result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties including suspension of payments from government programs;

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loss of required government certifications; loss of authorizations to participate in or exclusion from government reimbursement programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs; loss of licenses; significant fines or monetary penalties for anti-kickback law violations, submission of false claims or other failures to meet reimbursement program requirements and could adversely affect the continued operation of our business. Additionally, any such failure could damage our reputation or brand.

        Our pharmacy business is subject to the patient privacy and other obligations including corporate, pharmacy and associate responsibility, imposed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. As a covered entity, we are required to implement privacy standards, train our associates on the permitted use and disclosures of protected health information, properly dispose of related records, provide a notice of privacy practice to our pharmacy customers and permit pharmacy health customers to access and amend their records and receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information. Failure to properly adhere to these requirements could result in the imposition of civil as well as criminal penalties.

        Federal and state reform programs, such as healthcare reform and enforcement initiatives of federal and state governments may also affect our pharmacy business. These initiatives include:

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proposals designed to significantly reduce spending on Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs;



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changes in programs providing for reimbursement for the cost of prescription drugs by third party plans;



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increased scrutiny of, and litigation relating to, prescription drug manufacturers' pricing and marketing practices; and



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regulatory changes relating to the approval process for prescription drugs.

        These initiatives could lead to the implementation or enactment of, or changes to, federal regulations and state regulations that could adversely impact our prescription drug sales and, accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. It is uncertain at this time what additional healthcare reform initiatives, if any, will be implemented, or whether there will be other changes in the administration of governmental healthcare programs or interpretations of governmental policies or other changes affecting the healthcare system. The recently adopted healthcare reform legislation as well as future healthcare or budget legislation or other changes, including those referenced above, may materially adversely impact our pharmacy sales.

Certain risks are inherent in providing pharmacy services; our insurance may not be adequate to cover any claims against us.

        Pharmacies are exposed to risks inherent in the packaging and distribution of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products, such as with respect to improper filling of prescriptions, labeling of prescriptions, adequacy of warnings, unintentional distribution of counterfeit drugs and expiration of drugs. In addition, federal and state laws that require our pharmacists to offer counseling, without additional charge, to their customers about medication, dosage, delivery systems, common side effects and other information the pharmacists deem significant can impact our business. Our pharmacists may also have a duty to warn customers regarding any potential negative effects of a prescription drug if the warning could reduce or negate these effects. Although we maintain professional liability and errors and omissions liability insurance, from time to time, claims result in the payment of significant amounts, some portions of which are not funded by insurance. We cannot assure you that the coverage limits under our insurance programs will be adequate to protect us against future claims, or that we will be able to maintain this insurance on acceptable terms in the future. Our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows may be adversely affected if in the future our insurance coverage proves to be inadequate or unavailable or there is an increase in liability for which we self-insure or we suffer reputational harm as a result of an error or omission.

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We will not be able to compete effectively if we are unable to attract, hire and retain qualified pharmacists.

        The national shortage of pharmacists has eased over the past 12 months, resulting in more licensed pharmacists and new graduates seeking positions in many markets. Although this is occurring nationally, there is still an unmet demand for pharmacists in certain regions of the country that are challenging to staff. We continue to offer competitive compensation plans to retain and attract current and future pharmacists, work with Colleges of Pharmacy across the U.S. to recruit both pharmacy interns and pharmacy graduates and conduct a recruiting program for international pharmacists, but if the shortage recurs in one or more markets, our ability to compete effectively in that market could be adversely impacted.

We may be subject to significant liability should the consumption of any of our products cause injury, illness or death.

        Products that we sell could become subject to contamination, product tampering, mislabeling or other damage requiring us to recall our private brand products. In addition, errors in the dispensing and packaging of pharmaceuticals could lead to serious injury or death. Product liability claims may be asserted against us with respect to any of the products or pharmaceuticals we sell and we may be obligated to recall our private brand products. A product liability judgment against us or a product recall could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If we fail to protect the security of personal information about our customers and associates, we could be subject to costly government enforcement actions or private litigation.

        Through our sales and marketing activities, we collect and store certain personal information that our customers provide to purchase products or services, enroll in promotional programs, register on our web site, or otherwise communicate and interact with us. We also gather and retain information about our associates in the normal course of business. We may share information about such persons with vendors that assist with certain aspects of our business. Despite instituted safeguards for the protection of such information, security could be compromised and confidential customer or business information misappropriated. Loss of customer or business information could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, and expose us to claims from customers, financial institutions, payment card associations and other persons, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, compliance with tougher privacy and information security laws and standards may result in significant expense due to increased investment in technology and the development of new operational processes.

Item 1B.    Unresolved SEC Staff Comments

        None

Item 2.    Properties

        As of February 27, 2010, we operated 4,780 retail drugstores. The overall average selling square feet of each store in our chain is 10,000 square feet. The overall average total square feet of each store in our chain is 12,500. The stores in the eastern part of the U.S. average 8,800 selling square feet per store (10,900 average total square feet per store). The stores in the western part of the U.S. average 15,400 selling square feet per store (19,800 average total square feet per store).

        Our Customer World store prototype has an overall average selling square footage of 11,500 and an overall average total square feet of 14,500. The new Customer World store prototype in the eastern parts of the U.S. averages 11,000 selling square feet (14,000 average total square feet per store). The Customer World store prototype in the western part of the U.S. averages 14,000 selling square feet (17,400 average total square feet per store).

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        The table below identifies the number of stores by state as of February 27, 2010:

        Our stores have the following attributes at February 27, 2010:

        We lease 4,522 of our operating drugstore facilities under non-cancelable leases, many of which have original terms of 10 to 22 years. In addition to minimum rental payments, which are set at competitive market rates, certain leases require additional payments based on sales volume, as well as reimbursement for taxes, maintenance and insurance. Most of our leases contain renewal options, some of which involve rent increases. The remaining 258 drugstore facilities are owned.

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        We own our corporate headquarters, which is located in a 205,000 square foot building at 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011. We lease 366,400 square feet of space in various buildings near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for document warehousing use and additional administrative personnel. We own additional buildings near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which total 105,800 square feet and house our model store and additional administrative personnel.

        We operate the following distribution centers and satellite distribution locations, which we own or lease as indicated:

        The original terms of the leases for our distribution centers and satellite distribution locations range from 5 to 22 years. In addition to minimum rental payments, certain distribution centers require tax reimbursement, maintenance and insurance. Most leases contain renewal options, some of which involve rent increases. Although from time to time, we may be near capacity at some of our distribution facilities, particularly at our older facilities, we believe that the capacity of our facilities is adequate.

        We also own a 55,800 square foot ice cream manufacturing facility located in El Monte, California. On February 17, 2010 we sold the 68,000 square foot office building in Warwick, Rhode Island which was acquired as part of the Brooks Eckerd acquisition.

        On a regular basis and as part of our normal business, we evaluate store performance and may reduce in size, close or relocate a store if the store is redundant, underperforming or otherwise deemed unsuitable. We also evaluate strategic dispositions and acquisitions of facilities and prescription files. When we reduce in size, close or relocate a store or close distribution center facilities, we often continue to have leasing obligations or own the property. We attempt to sublease this space. As of February 27, 2010, we had 10,092,337 square feet of excess space, 4,832,854 square feet of which was subleased.

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Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

        We are currently a defendant in several putative collective or class action lawsuits filed in federal or state courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Ohio and Oregon, purportedly on behalf of, in some cases (i) current and former assistant store managers, or (ii) current and former store managers and assistant store managers, respectively, working in our stores at various locations. The lawsuits allege violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and of certain state wage and hour statutes. The lawsuits seek various combinations of unpaid compensation (including overtime compensation), liquidated damages, exemplary damages, pre- and post-judgment interest as well as attorneys' fees and costs. In one of the cases, Craig et al v. Rite Aid Corporation et al, pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, brought on behalf of current and former assistant store managers, the Court, on December 9, 2009, conditionally certified a nationwide collective group of individuals who worked for us as assistant store managers since December 9, 2006. Notice of the Craig action has been sent to the purported members of the collective group. The number of persons who will opt into the Craig action has not been determined. In another of the cases, Indergit v. Rite Aid Corporation et al, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, brought on behalf of current and former store managers and assistant store managers, the Court, on April 2, 2010, conditionally certified a nationwide collective group of individuals who worked for us as store managers since March 31, 2007. The Court ordered that Notice of the Indergit action be sent to the purported members of the collective group. Neither the actual date on which the Notice will be sent nor the number of persons who will opt into the Indergit action has been determined. At this time, we are not able to predict the outcome of these lawsuits, or any possible monetary exposure associated with the lawsuits. We believe, however, that the lawsuits are without merit and not appropriate for collective or class action treatment. We are vigorously defending all of these claims.

        We are currently a defendant in several putative class action lawsuits filed in state courts in California alleging violations by us of California wage and hour laws pertaining primarily to pay for missed meals and rest periods. These suits purport to be class actions and seek substantial damages. At this time, we are not able to predict the outcome of these lawsuits, or any possible monetary exposure associated with the lawsuits. We believe, however, that the plaintiffs' allegations are without merit and that their claims are not appropriate for class action treatment. We are vigorously defending all of these claims.

        We do not believe that any of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition. We cannot give assurance, however, that an unfavorable outcome in one or more of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for the period in which they are resolved.

        We are subject from time to time to various claims and lawsuits and governmental investigations, inspections, audits, inquiries and similar actions arising in, and incidental to, the ordinary course of our business. While we cannot predict the outcome of these claims with certainty, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these legal matters will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

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Item 4.    [Reserved]

PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuers Purchases of Equity Securities.

        Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "RAD." On April 20, 2010, we had approximately 28,771 stockholders of record. Quarterly high and low stock prices, based on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") composite transactions, are shown below.

        We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock since the third quarter of fiscal 2000 and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Our senior secured credit facility and some of the indentures that govern our other outstanding indebtedness restrict our ability to pay dividends.

        We have not sold any unregistered equity securities during the period covered by this report, nor have we repurchased any equity securities, during the period covered by this report.

        The Chief Executive Officer of the Company certified to the NYSE on July 1, 2009 that she was not aware of any violation by the Company of the NYSE's corporate governance listing standards.

STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

        The graph below compares the yearly percentage change in the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock for the last five fiscal years with the cumulative total return on (i) the Russell 1000 Consumer Staples Index, and (ii) the Russell 1000 Index, over the same period (assuming the investment of $100.00 in our common stock and such indexes on February 26, 2005 and reinvestment of dividends).

        For comparison of cumulative total return, we have elected to use the Russell 1000 Consumer Staples Index, consisting of 52 companies including the three largest drugstore chains, and the Russell 1000 Index. This allows comparison of the company to a peer group of similar sized companies. We are one of the companies included in the Russell 1000 Consumer Staples Index and the Russell 1000 Index. The Russell 1000 Consumer Staples Index is a capitalization-weighted index of companies that provide products directly to consumers that are typically considered nondiscretionary items based on consumer purchasing habits. The Russell 1000 Index consists of the largest 1000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index and represents the universe of large capitalization stocks from which many active money managers typically select.

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Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Total Return
Assumes Initial Investment of $100
February 2010

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data

        The following selected financial data should be read in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes.

        Selected financial data for the fiscal years 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006 have been adjusted to reflect the operations of our 28 stores in the Las Vegas market area as a discontinued operations as the Company entered into an agreement to sell the prescription files and terminate the operations of these stores during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

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        Selected financial data for March 1, 2008 includes Brooks Eckerd results of operations for the thirty-nine week period ended March 1, 2008.

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Item 7.   Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

        Net loss for fiscal 2010 was $506.7 million or $0.59 per basic and diluted share, compared to net loss for fiscal 2009 of $2,915.4 million or $3.49 per basic and diluted share and net loss of $1,079.0 million or $1.54 per basic and diluted share in fiscal 2008. Fiscal 2009 included significant non-cash charges related to goodwill impairment, store impairment and an additional tax valuation allowance against deferred tax assets that accounted for $2.2 billion or $2.70 per diluted share. Excluding these significant non-cash charges, fiscal 2009's net loss would have been $640 million or $0.79 per diluted share. Our operating results are described in detail in the Results of Operations section of this Item 7. Some of the key factors that impacted our results in fiscal 2010, 2009, and 2008 are summarized as follows:

        Write-Off of Goodwill:    During fiscal 2009, we impaired all of our existing goodwill, which resulted in a non-cash charge of $1.81 billion. This entry was required due to the fact that the market value of Rite Aid Corporation, as indicated by the trading price of our common stock, was less than the carrying value of our net assets as of February 28, 2009.

        Income Tax:    Net loss for fiscal 2010 included income tax expense of $26.8 million and was primarily comprised of an accrual for state and local taxes net of federal tax recoveries and adjustments to unrecognized tax benefits. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets. ASC 740, "Income Taxes" requires a company to evaluate its deferred tax assets on a regular basis to determine if a valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets is required. A cumulative loss in recent years is significant negative evidence in considering whether deferred tax assets are realizable. Based on the negative evidence, ASC 740 precludes relying on projections of future taxable income to support the recognition of deferred tax assets.

        Net loss for fiscal 2009 included income tax expense of $329.3 million. The income tax expense was primarily due to a non-cash write-down of our remaining net Federal and State deferred tax assets through an adjustment to our valuation allowance. This change was primarily due to a decline in actual results from our previous forecast as a result of the impact of difficult economic conditions on fiscal 2009 results. Net loss for fiscal 2008 included income tax expense of $920.4 million related to a non-cash increase of the valuation allowance on federal and state net deferred tax assets.

        Store Closing and Impairment Charges:    We recorded store closing and impairment charges of $208.0 million in fiscal 2010, versus $293.7 million in store closing and impairment charges in fiscal 2009 and $86.2 million in fiscal 2008. The decrease in charges for fiscal 2010 was largely due to the store closure activity and higher store impairment charges in fiscal 2009 driven by the decision to close stores that, due to the acquisition of Brooks Eckerd, were in overlapping market areas and the assessment that future cash flows from these stores would not be sufficient to cover their asset value.

        LIFO Charges:    We record the value of our inventory on the Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) method. We recorded non-cash LIFO charges of $88.5 million, $184.6 million and $16.1 million in fiscal 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The higher LIFO charge in fiscal 2009 was due to higher inflation on front end products in that year.

        Acquisition of Brooks Eckerd.    On June 4, 2007, we acquired all of the membership interests of Jean Coutu USA, the holding company for Brooks Eckerd, from Jean Coutu Group, pursuant to the terms of the agreement dated August 23, 2006. As consideration for the acquisition, we paid

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$2.31 billion in cash and issued 250 million shares of Rite Aid common stock. We financed our cash payment via the establishment of a new term loan facility, issuance of senior notes and borrowings under our existing revolving credit facility. As part of the arrangement of the financing necessary to complete the acquisition, we incurred a $12.9 million fee for bridge financing that ultimately was not needed. This fee was recorded as a loss on debt modification in our statement of operations for fiscal 2008.

        As of February 27, 2010, Jean Coutu Group owned 252.0 million shares of Rite Aid common stock, which represents approximately 27.5% of the total Rite Aid voting power. We expanded our Board of Directors to 14 members, with four of the seats being held by members designated by the Jean Coutu Group. In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a Stockholder Agreement (the "Stockholder Agreement") with Jean Coutu Group and certain family members. The Stockholder Agreement contains provisions relating to Jean Coutu Group's ownership interest in the Company, board and board committee composition, corporate governance, stock ownership, stock purchase rights, transfer restrictions, voting arrangements and other matters. We also entered into a registration rights agreement with Jean Coutu Group giving Jean Coutu Group certain rights with respect to the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of the shares of our common stock issued to Jean Coutu Group or acquired by Jean Coutu Group pursuant to certain stock purchase rights or open market rights under the Stockholder Agreement.

        Debt Refinancing.    In fiscal years 2010 and 2009, we took several steps to extend the terms of our debt and obtain more flexibility. In fiscal 2010, we refinanced our first and second lien securitization facilities. The refinancing consisted of the issuance of $270.0 million of new 10.25% Senior Secured Notes due October 2019, commitments to increase the maximum borrowing capacity under our existing senior secured revolving credit facility from $1.0 billion to $1.175 billion, and an increase in the borrowings under our existing $525.0 million Tranche 4 term loan due June 2015 by $125.0 million to $650.0 million. Additionally, we issued $410.0 million of 9.75% senior secured notes due June 2016 proceeds of which repaid all borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility due September 2010 and all of the commitments thereunder. We also repaid all borrowings due under the $145.0 million Tranche 1 Term Loan. We incurred fees of $60.2 million to consummate the fiscal 2010 refinancings. In fiscal 2009, we issued our 8.5% convertible notes due May 2015, the proceeds of which were used to redeem our 6.125% notes due December 2008. Additionally, we consummated a tender offer and consent solicitation and repaid $348.9 million of our 8.125% notes due May 2010, $144.0 million of our 9.25% notes due June 2013 and the full balance of our 7.5% notes due January 2015. Proceeds from the issuance of our 10.375% notes due July 2016 and our Tranche 3 term loan were used to fund the tender offer and consent solicitation. We incurred charges of $39.9 million to call these notes prior to maturity and write-off unamortized debt issue costs.

        Dilutive Equity Issuances.    At February 27, 2010, 887.6 million shares of common stock were outstanding and an additional 164.9 million shares of common stock were issuable related to outstanding stock options, convertible preferred stock and convertible notes.

        Our 164.9 million shares of potentially issuable common stock consist of the following (shares in thousands):

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Results of Operations

        The results of operations for the fiscal year ended March 1, 2008 have been adjusted to reflect the operations of our 28 stores in the Las Vegas market area as a discontinued operation, as the Company has sold the prescription files and terminated the operations of these stores.

Revenue and Other Operating Data

Revenues

        Fiscal 2010 compared to Fiscal 2009:    The 2.4% decline in revenue was primarily driven by a reduction in our store base and a decline in same store sales, which decreased 0.9% compared to prior year. This decline consisted of 0.1% pharmacy same store sales increase offset by a 2.9% decrease in front end same store sales. Same store sales trends for fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2009 are described in the following paragraphs. We include in same store sales all stores that have been open at least one year. Stores in liquidation are considered closed. Relocation stores are not included in same store sales until one year has lapsed.

        Pharmacy same store sales increased 0.1%. Same store prescription growth was 0.8% for fiscal 2010, which was positively impacted by the growth of our Rx Savings Card program, the benefit of grassroots marketing initiatives in our high-volume front end/low volume pharmacy stores and growth in our automated refill reminder program and other prescription compliance programs. The impact on sales of the increase in our prescription count was partially offset by an increase in generic sales and reductions in pharmacy reimbursement rates.

        Front end same store sales decreased 2.9% from the prior year, due to weakness in the overall economic environment and its impact on consumer shopping behavior and the impact of some of our initiatives, including our efforts to reduce costs, to reduce inventory, and to make changes to operating procedures for low volume stores.

        Fiscal 2009 compared to Fiscal 2008:    The 8.1% growth in revenue for fiscal 2009 was driven primarily by the acquisition of Brooks Eckerd. In addition, same store sales increased 0.8% and

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consisted of 0.7% pharmacy same store sales increase and a 0.9% increase in front end same store sales. Same store sales include the results of the Brooks Eckerd stores for the last thirty-nine weeks of fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2008.

        Pharmacy same store sales increased 0.7%. Increases in price per prescription were partially offset by increased generic penetration and a 1.0% same store prescription decline. The decline in same store prescriptions was driven by script count declines in the Brooks Eckerd stores, switches of prescriptions to over-the-counter medications and the overall economic environment. Same store script growth at the core Rite Aid stores was 0.7% for fiscal 2009 and same store scripts declined 5.0% for the Brooks Eckerd stores.

        Front end same store sales increased 0.9% in fiscal 2009, due to strong performance in our consumable and over-the-counter categories and improvement in our private brand penetration. These items were somewhat offset by weakness in the overall economic environment, which had a negative impact on seasonal sales in the second half of the fiscal year and decreases in photo sales, which were due to the continuing trend of consumers printing fewer images as well as the disruption of services due to the conversion of our photo technology to FUJI digital equipment. Front end same store sales for the core Rite Aid stores increased 1.2% for the year, while front end same store sales for the Brooks Eckerd stores declined by 0.5%.

Costs and Expenses

Cost of Goods Sold

        Gross margin rate was 26.6% for fiscal 2010 compared to 26.8% in fiscal 2009. The decline in gross margin rate for fiscal 2010 was driven primarily by pharmacy margin decline due to reductions in reimbursement rates including reductions in Medicaid reimbursements resulting from the AWP rollback, fewer new generics and fewer price reductions on existing generics. We expect the impact from these items to continue in fiscal 2011, which could result in lower pharmacy margins. Front end gross margin was lower, as improvements in shrink and distribution costs were more than offset by a higher mix of promotional sales and lower inventory capitalization costs. Partially offsetting the decline in front end and pharmacy margins was a reduction in LIFO expense.

        Gross margin rate was 26.8% for fiscal 2009 compared to 27.3% in fiscal 2008. The decline in gross margin rate for fiscal 2009 was driven primarily by a significant increase in our LIFO charge, which is due to higher front end and pharmacy product inflation than in prior years. Pharmacy gross margin rate on a FIFO basis improved due to an increase in the percentage of generic drugs dispensed and a lower cost of generics, partially offset by lower reimbursement rates. Front end gross margin on a FIFO basis was flat, as improvements in shrink were offset by a reduction in photo sales.

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        We use the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method of inventory valuation. The LIFO charge was $88.5 million in fiscal 2010, $184.6 million in fiscal 2009 and $16.1 million in fiscal 2008.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

        SG&A for fiscal 2010 was 25.7% as a percentage of revenue, compared to 26.6% in fiscal 2009. The decrease in SG&A as a percentage of revenues is mostly due to a decrease in salaries and benefit costs due to better labor control and reductions in store operating expenses and corporate administrative expenses resulting from our various cost reduction initiatives.

        SG&A for fiscal 2009 was 26.6% as a percentage of revenue, compared to 26.2% in fiscal 2008. The increase in SG&A as a percentage of revenue was primarily due to an increase in depreciation and amortization expense related primarily to increased intangible assets resulting from the allocation of the purchase price of Brooks Eckerd, an increase in rent and occupancy expenses due to new and relocated stores and the sale-leaseback of owned stores. These items were somewhat offset by a decrease in integration expense and advertising costs.

Goodwill Impairment

        In fiscal 2009, we impaired all of our existing goodwill, which resulted in a non-cash charge of $1.81 billion. This entry was required due to the fact that our market value, as indicated by the trading price of our common stock, was less than the carrying value of our net assets as of February 28, 2009.

Lease Termination and Impairment Charges

        Lease termination and impairment charges consist of amounts and number of locations as follows:

        Impairment Charges.    These amounts include the write-down of long-lived assets to estimated fair value at stores that were identified for impairment as part of our on-going store performance review at all of our stores or management's intention to relocate or close a specific store. The increase in impairment charges in fiscal 2009 was primarily due to current and projected operating results at these stores not being sufficient to cover the asset values.

        Facility and Equipment Lease Exit Charges.    Charges to close a store, which principally consist of lease termination costs, are recorded at the time the store is closed and all inventory is liquidated, pursuant to the guidance set forth in ASC 420, "Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations." We calculate our liability for closed stores on a store-by-store basis. The calculation includes the discounted effect of future minimum lease payments and related ancillary costs, from the date of closure to the end of the remaining lease term, net of estimated cost recoveries that may be achieved through subletting properties or favorable lease terminations. We evaluate these assumptions each quarter and adjust the liability accordingly. The increase in facility and equipment lease exit charges over fiscal 2008 is due to

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a higher level of stores closed in fiscal 2009 and 2010 and a decrease in the amount of assumed sublease income over the remaining minimum lease term.

        As part of our ongoing business activities, we assess stores and distribution centers for potential closure. Decisions to close stores in future periods would result in charges for store lease exit costs and liquidation of inventory, as well as impairment of assets at these stores.

Interest Expense

        In fiscal 2010, 2009, and 2008, interest expense was $515.8 million, $477.6 million and $449.6 million, respectively. The increase in interest expense in fiscal 2010 compared to fiscal 2009 is due to higher cost debt incurred as part of our fiscal 2010 refinancings offset somewhat by lower LIBOR rates and decreased borrowings under the revolving credit facility.

        The annual weighted average interest rates on our indebtedness in fiscal 2010, 2009 and 2008 were 6.8%, 6.6% and 7.5%, respectively.

Income Taxes

        Income tax expense of $26.8 million, $329.3 million and $802.7 million, has been recorded for fiscal 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Net loss for fiscal 2010 included income tax expense of $26.8 million and was primarily comprised of an accrual for state and local taxes net of federal tax recoveries and adjustments to unrecognized tax benefits. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets. ASC 740, "Income Taxes" requires a company to evaluate its deferred tax assets on a regular basis to determine if a valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets is required. In determining whether a valuation allowance is required, we take into account all available positive and negative evidence with regard to the recognition of a deferred tax asset including our past earnings history, expected future earnings, the character and jurisdiction of such earnings, unsettled circumstances that, if unfavorably resolved, would adversely affect recognition of a deferred tax asset, carryback and carryforward periods, and tax planning strategies that could potentially enhance the likelihood of realization of a deferred tax asset. A cumulative loss in recent years is significant negative evidence in considering whether deferred tax assets are realizable. Based on the negative evidence, ASC 740 precludes relying on projections of future taxable income to support the recognition of deferred tax assets. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the existence of sufficient taxable income generated in the carryforward periods.

        The fiscal 2009 income tax expense included non-cash income tax expense of $673.1 million related to the write-down of our remaining net Federal and State deferred tax assets through an adjustment to our valuation allowance. This change was primarily due to a decline in actual results from our previous forecast as a result of the impact of current economic conditions on fiscal 2009 results. The fiscal 2008 income tax expense included a non-cash tax expense of $920.4 million related to an increase of the valuation allowance on federal and state net deferred tax assets. The existence of negative evidence at March 1, 2008, was primarily the result of recently completed acquisition of Brooks Eckerd and the impact on current year earnings due to planned integration and acquisition activities, compounded by the weakening economy during the second half of the year.

        We monitor all available evidence related to our ability to utilize our remaining net deferred tax assets. We maintained a full valuation allowance of $1,984.5 million and $1,787.8 million against remaining net deferred tax assets at fiscal year end 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

General

        We have three primary sources of liquidity: (i) cash and cash equivalents, (ii) cash provided by operating activities, and (iii) borrowings under the revolving credit facility under our senior secured credit facility. Our principal uses of cash are to provide working capital for operations, to service our obligations to pay interest and principal on debt, to fund capital expenditures and to provide funds for payment of our debt.

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Credit Facility

        Our senior secured credit facility includes a $1.175 billion revolving credit facility. Borrowings under this revolving credit facility bear interest at LIBOR plus 4.25% (with a minimum LIBOR of 3.00%), if we choose to make LIBOR borrowings, or at Citibank's base rate plus 3.25% (with a minimum base rate of 4.00%). The interest rate can fluctuate between LIBOR plus 4.25% and LIBOR plus 4.75%, based upon the amount of revolver availability, as defined in the senior credit facility. We are required to pay fees between 0.75% and 1.00% per annum on the daily unused amount of the revolving credit facility, depending on the amount of revolver availability. Amounts drawn under this credit facility become due and payable in September 2012.

        Our ability to borrow under the revolving credit facility is based upon a specified borrowing base consisting of accounts receivable, inventory and prescription files. At February 27, 2010, we had $80.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility. At February 27, 2010, we also had letters of credit outstanding against the revolving credit facility of $159.0 million, which resulted in additional borrowing capacity of $936.0 million.

        On June 4, 2007, we amended our senior secured credit facility to establish a new senior secured term loan in the aggregate principal amount of $1.105 billion and borrowed the full amount thereunder. A portion of the proceeds from the borrowings under this senior secured term loan (the "Tranche 2 Term Loan") were used to fund the acquisition of Brooks Eckerd. The Tranche 2 Term Loan will mature on June 4, 2014 and currently bears interest at LIBOR plus 1.75%, if we choose to make LIBOR borrowings, or at Citibank's base rate plus 0.75%. We must make mandatory prepayments of the Tranche 2 Term Loan with the proceeds of asset dispositions (subject to certain limitations), with a portion of any excess cash flow generated by us (as defined in the senior secured credit facility) and with the proceeds of certain issuances of equity and debt (subject to certain exceptions). If at any time there is a shortfall in our borrowing base under our senior secured credit facility, prepayment of the Tranche 2 Term Loan may also be required.

        In July 2008, we issued a new senior secured term loan (Tranche 3 Term Loan) of $350.0 million under our existing senior secured credit facility. The Tranche 3 Term Loan was issued at a discount of 90% of par. The Tranche 3 Term Loan matures on June 4, 2014 and bears interest at LIBOR (with a minimum LIBOR rate of 3.00%) plus 3.00%, if we choose to make LIBOR borrowings, or at Citibank's base rate (with a minimum base rate of 4.00%) plus 2.00%. We must make mandatory prepayments of the Tranche 3 Term Loan with the proceeds of asset dispositions (subject to certain limitations), with a portion of any excess cash flow generated by us (as defined in the senior secured credit facility) and with the proceeds of certain issuances of equity and debt (subject to certain exceptions). If at any time there is a shortfall in our borrowing base under our senior secured credit facility, prepayment of the Tranche 3 Term Loan may also be required.

        In June 2009, we issued a new senior secured term loan (the "Tranche 4 Term Loan") of $525.0 million under our existing secured credit facility. In October 2009, we issued an additional $125.0 million under the Tranche 4 Term Loan as part of the Refinancing. The Tranche 4 Term Loan matures on June 10, 2015 and bears interest at a rate per annum equal to, at our option, either (a) an adjusted LIBOR rate (with a LIBOR floor of 3.00% per annum) plus 6.50% or (b) Citibank's base rate (with a floor of 4.00% per annum) plus 5.50%. We must make mandatory prepayments of the Tranche 4 Term Loan with the proceeds of certain asset dispositions (subject to certain limitations), with a portion of any excess cash flow generated by us (as defined in the senior secured credit facility) and with the proceeds of certain issuances of equity and debt (subject to certain exceptions). If at any time there is a shortfall in our borrowing base under the senior secured credit facility, prepayment of the Tranche 4 Term Loan may also be required. All prepayments of the Tranche 4 Term Loan occurring on or prior to the third anniversary of the initial borrowing of the Tranche 4 Term Loan are subject to a prepayment premium in an amount equal to (i) 5.0% of the principal amount prepaid if such prepayment occurs on or prior to the first anniversary of such borrowing, (ii) 3.0% of the principal amount prepaid if such prepayment occurs on or prior to the second anniversary of such borrowing and

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(iii) 1.0% of the principal amount prepaid if such prepayment occurs on or prior to the third anniversary of such borrowing.

        The senior secured credit facility also restricts us and the subsidiary guarantors from accumulating cash on hand in excess of $200.0 million at any time when revolving loans are outstanding (not including cash located in our store deposit accounts, cash necessary to cover our current liabilities and certain other exceptions) and from accumulating cash on hand with revolver borrowings in excess of $100.0 million over three consecutive business days. The senior secured credit facility also states that if at any time (other than following the exercise of remedies or acceleration of any senior obligations or second priority debt and receipt of a triggering notice by the senior collateral agent from a representative of the senior obligations or the second priority debt) either (a) an event of default exists under our senior secured credit facility or (b) the sum of revolver availability under our senior secured credit facility and certain amounts held on deposit with the senior collateral agent in a concentration account is less than $100.0 million for three consecutive business days (a "cash sweep period"), the funds in our deposit accounts will be swept to a concentration account with the senior collateral agent and will be applied first to repay outstanding revolving loans under the senior secured credit facility, and then held as Collateral for the senior obligations until such cash sweep period is rescinded pursuant to the terms of our senior secured credit facility.

        The senior secured credit facility allows us to have outstanding, at any time, up to $1.5 billion in secured second priority debt and unsecured debt in addition to borrowings under the senior secured credit facility and existing indebtedness, provided that not in excess of $750.0 million of such secured second priority debt and unsecured debt shall mature or require scheduled payments of principal prior to three months after June 4, 2014. The senior secured credit facility allows us to incur an unlimited amount of unsecured debt with a maturity beyond three months after June 4, 2014; however other outstanding indebtedness limits the amount of unsecured debt that can be incurred if certain interest coverage levels are not met at the time of incurrence of said debt. The senior secured facility also allows, so long as the senior secured credit facility is not in default, for the repurchase of any debt with a maturity on or before June 4, 2014 and for the voluntary repurchase of debt with a maturity after June 4, 2014 if we maintain availability on the revolving credit facility of at least $100.0 million

        Our credit facility has a fixed charge coverage ratio test which increases from 1.05 to 1.10 beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The senior secured credit facility only requires us to maintain the minimum fixed charge coverage ratio once availability on the revolving credit facility is less than $150 million.

        The senior secured credit facility provides for events of default including nonpayment, misrepresentation, breach of covenants and bankruptcy. It is also an event of default if we fail to make any required payment on debt having a principal amount in excess of $50.0 million or any event occurs that enables, or which with the giving of notice or the lapse of time would enable, the holder of such debt to accelerate the maturity or require the repurchase of such debt.

Other 2010 Transactions

        In October 2009, we issued $270.0 million of 10.25% senior secured notes due October 15, 2019. The notes are unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of Rite Aid Corporation and rank equally in right of payment with all other unsubordinated indebtedness. Our obligations under these notes are guaranteed, subject to certain limitations, by the same subsidiaries that guarantee the obligations under the senior secured credit facility. The guarantees are secured by shared second priority liens with holders of the 10.375% senior secured notes due 2016 and 7.5% senior secured notes due 2017. The indenture that governs the 10.25% notes contains covenant provisions that, among other things, include limitations on our ability to pay dividends, make investments or other restricted payments, incur debt, grant liens, sell assets and enter into sale-leaseback transactions. The 10.25% senior secured notes due October 2019 were issued at 99.2% of par.

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        In June 2009, we issued $410.0 million of 9.75% senior secured notes due June 12, 2016. These notes are unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of Rite Aid Corporation and rank equally in right of payment with all other unsubordinated indebtedness. Our obligations under these notes are guaranteed, subject to certain limitations, by the same subsidiaries that guarantee the obligations under the senior secured credit facility. These guarantees are shared, on a senior basis, with debt outstanding under the senior secured credit facility. The indenture that governs the 9.75% notes contains covenant provisions that, among other things, allow the holders of the notes to participate along with the term loan holders in mandatory prepayments resulting from the proceeds of certain asset dispositions (at the option of the noteholder) and include limitations on our ability to pay dividends, make investments or other restricted payments, incur debt, grant liens, sell assets and enter into sale-leaseback transactions. The 9.75% senior secured notes due June 2016 were issued at 98.2% of par.

        The indentures that govern our secured and guaranteed unsecured notes contain restrictions on the amount of additional secured and unsecured debt that can be incurred by us. As of February 27, 2010, the amount of additional secured debt that could be incurred under these indentures was approximately $997.6 million (which amount does not include the ability to enter into certain sale and leaseback transactions). However, we could not incur any additional secured debt as of February 27, 2010 assuming a fully drawn revolver and the outstanding letters of credit. The ability to issue additional unsecured debt under these indentures is governed by an interest coverage ratio test.

Sale Leaseback Transactions

        During fiscal 2010 we sold a total of 3 owned stores to independent third parties. Net proceeds from these sales were $8.0 million. Concurrent with these sales, we entered into agreements to lease the stores back from the purchasers over minimum lease terms of 10 to 20 years. We accounted for all of these leases as operating leases. A gain on the sale of these stores of $5.3 million was deferred and is being recorded over the minimum term of these leases.

2009 Transactions

        On June 4, 2008, we commenced a tender offer and consent solicitation under which we offered to repurchase all outstanding amounts of our 8.125% senior secured notes due May 2010, our 7.5% senior secured notes due January 2015 and our 9.25% senior notes due June 2013. On July 8, 2008, the tender offer expired and on July 9, we repaid $348.9 million of the outstanding balance of our 8.125% notes due May 2010, $199.6 million of our 7.5% notes due January 2015 and $144.0 million of the outstanding balance of our 9.25% notes due June 2013. In addition, on July 9, 2008, we sent a notice of redemption for the remaining outstanding 7.5% notes due 2015 and satisfied and discharged the indenture governing such notes. As a result of this tender and consent solicitation, the indentures governing these notes were amended to eliminate substantially all of the restrictive covenants therein including limitations on our ability to incur additional debt and grant liens against assets. In addition, the guarantees on each series were eliminated and the 8.125% notes are no longer secured. We did the transaction because these notes had restrictions on secured debt that prohibited us from fully drawing on our revolving credit facility under certain circumstances. We incurred a loss on debt modification related to this transaction of $36.6 million.

        These transactions were financed via the issuance of a new senior secured term loan (the Tranche 3 Term Loan) described above and the issuance of a $470.0 million aggregate principal amount of 10.375% senior secured notes due July 2016. These notes are unsecured unsubordinated obligations of Rite Aid Corporation and rank equally in right of payment with all other unsubordinated indebtedness. Our obligations under the notes are guaranteed, subject to certain limitations, by subsidiaries that guarantee the obligations under our senior secured credit facility. The guarantees are secured by shared second priority liens with holders of our 7.5% senior secured notes due 2017 and our 10.25% senior secured notes due 2019. The indenture that governs the 10.375% senior secured notes due 2016 contains covenant provisions that, among other things, include limitations on our ability to pay dividends, make investments or other restricted payments, incur debt, grant liens, sell assets and

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enter into sale-leaseback transactions. The 10.375% senior secured notes due July 2016 were issued at 90.588% of par.

        In May 2008 we issued $158.0 million of 8.5% convertible notes due May 2015. These notes are unsecured and are effectively junior to our secured debt. The notes are convertible, at the option of the holder, into shares of our common stock at a conversion price of $2.59 per share, subject to adjustments to prevent dilution, at any time. Proceeds from the issuance of these notes were used to fund the redemption of our 6.125% notes due December 2008. We recorded a loss on debt modification of $3.3 million related to the early redemption of the 6.125% notes due 2008, which included payment of a make whole premium to the noteholders and unamortized debt issue costs on the notes.

Preferred Stock Transactions

        In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 the holder of substantially all of the outstanding shares of our Series G preferred stock converted its shares into 27.1 million shares of our common stock at a conversion rate of $5.50 per share.

        During fiscal 2006, we issued 4.8 million shares of our Series I Mandatory Convertible preferred stock ("Series I preferred stock"). In the first quarter of fiscal 2009, we entered into agreements with several of the holders of the Series I preferred stock to convert 2.4 million shares into common stock, at a rate of 5.6561 common shares per preferred share, earlier than the mandatory conversion date, which resulted in the issuance of 14.6 million shares of our common stock. In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, the remaining outstanding 2.4 million shares of Series I preferred stock automatically converted into common stock, at a rate of 5.6561 common shares per preferred share, which resulted in the issuance of 13.7 million shares of our common stock.

Sale Leaseback Transactions

        During fiscal 2009 we sold a total of 72 owned stores to independent third parties. Net proceeds from these sales were $193.0 million. Concurrent with these sales, we entered into agreements to lease the stores back from the purchasers over minimum lease terms of 20 years. We accounted for 67 of these leases as operating leases and the remaining five were initially accounted for using the financing method as these lease agreements contain a clause that allow the buyer to force us to repurchase the properties under certain conditions. A gain on the sale of these stores of $5.2 million was deferred and is being recorded over the minimum term of these leases. Subsequent to February 28, 2009, the clause that allowed the buyer to force us to repurchase the property lapsed on three of these leases. Therefore, these leases are now accounted for as operating leases.

2008 Transactions

Debt Transactions

        On June 4, 2007 we incurred $1.22 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes. The issue consisted of $410.0 million of 9.375% senior notes due 2015 and $810.0 million of 9.5% senior notes due 2017. Our obligations under each series of notes are guaranteed fully and unconditionally, jointly and severally, by all of our subsidiaries that guarantee our obligations under our existing senior secured credit facility and our outstanding senior secured notes. The notes are unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of Rite Aid Corporation and rank equally in right of payment with all of our other unsecured, unsubordinated debt. The indentures governing the notes contain covenants that limit our ability and the ability of our restricted subsidiaries to, among other things; incur additional debt, pay dividends or make other restricted payments, purchase, redeem or retire capital stock or subordinated debt, make asset sales, enter into transactions with affiliates, incur liens, enter into sale-leaseback transactions, provide subsidiary guarantees, make investments and merge or consolidate with any other persons.

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Preferred Stock Transactions

        During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, we issued 2.5 million shares of our Series E Mandatory Convertible preferred stock ("Series E preferred stock"). The Series E preferred stock automatically converted into common stock on February 1, 2008 at a rate of 14.0056 common shares per preferred share, as determined by the adjusted applicable market value of our common stock (as defined in the Series E preferred stock agreement) on the date of conversion. The Series E preferred stock conversion resulted in the issuance of 35.0 million shares of our common stock to the holders of the Series E preferred stock.

Sale Leaseback Transactions

        During fiscal 2008 we sold a total of 22 owned stores to independent third parties. Net proceeds from these sales were $93.3 million. Concurrent with these sales, we entered into agreements to lease the stores back from the purchasers over minimum lease terms of 20 years. We accounted for 14 of these leases as operating leases and the remaining eight were accounted for using the financing method as these lease agreements contain a clause that allow the buyer to force us to repurchase the properties under certain conditions. Subsequent to March 1, 2008, the clause that allowed the buyer to force us to repurchase the property lapsed on all of these leases. Therefore, these leases are now accounted for as operating leases.

Off Balance Sheet Obligations

        Until October 26, 2009, we maintained securitization agreements (the "First Lien Facility") with several multi-seller asset-backed commercial paper vehicles ("CPVs"). Under the terms of the First Lien Facility, we sold substantially all of our eligible third party pharmaceutical receivables to a bankruptcy remote Special Purpose Entity ("SPE") and retained servicing responsibility. The SPE then transferred an interest in these receivables to various CPVs. We also maintained a $225.0 million second priority accounts receivable securitization term loan ("Second Lien Facility").

        On October 26, 2009, we terminated both accounts receivable securitization facilities and replaced them with senior secured notes, increased borrowing capacity under our existing senior secured revolving credit facility and an increase in borrowings under our Tranche 4 Term Loan. As part of this refinancing, we incurred a prepayment penalty of $2.3 million in relation to the Second Lien Facility and recognized $3.8 million of unamortized discount related to the Second Lien Facility. These charges are recorded as a component of selling, general, and administrative expenses.

        The table below details receivable transfer activity for the years presented (in thousands). Note that for the period ended February 27, 2010, receivables securitization activity is reflected through October 26, 2009, the date of the termination of the securitization facilities.

        The program fee under the First Lien Facility was LIBOR plus 2.0% of the total amount advanced under the facility. The liquidity fee was 3.5% of the total facility commitment of $345.0 million. The program and the liquidity fees are recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses. Program and liquidity fees for fiscal 2010, 2009 and 2008 were $12.0 million, $24.9 million and $22.3 million, respectively.

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        Financing fees related to the Second Lien Facility for fiscal 2010 were $24.9 million and are recorded as a component of selling, general, and administrative expenses. At February 28, 2009, our interest in the third party pharmaceutical receivables is as follows (in thousands):

        As of February 27, 2010, we had no material off balance sheet arrangements, other than operating leases included in the table below.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

        The following table details the maturities of our indebtedness and lease financing obligations as of February 27, 2010, as well as other contractual cash obligations and commitments.

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        Obligations for income tax uncertainties pursuant to ASC 740, "Income Taxes" of approximately $117.0 million are not included in the table above as we are uncertain as to if or when such amounts may be settled.

Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Operating, Investing and Financing Activities

        Cash flow used in operating activities was $325.1 million in fiscal 2010. Cash flow was negatively impacted by the repayments of the accounts receivable securitization facilities totaling $555.0 million and a decrease in accounts payable offset by a reduction in inventory and accounts receivable. The decreases in accounts receivables, inventory and accounts payable were due to operating fewer stores and various working capital initiatives.

        Cash flow provided by operating activities was $359.9 million in fiscal 2009. Cash flow was positively impacted by net proceeds from our accounts receivable securitization, reductions in accounts receivable and inventory, partially offset by a decrease in accounts payable. The decrease in inventory is primarily due to the efforts made by management to reduce excess inventory and a decrease in purchasing volume, which also impacted accounts payable.

        Cash flow provided by operating activities was $79.4 million in fiscal 2008. Cash flow was positively impacted by net proceeds from our accounts receivable securitization and a reduction in accounts receivable partially offset by an increase in inventory and a decrease in accounts payable. The increase in inventory was primarily caused by Brooks Eckerd integration activities. Integration activities that require a temporary investment in inventory include replacing discontinued inventory, increasing the number of SKU's at the Brooks Eckerd distribution centers and retrofitting the planograms in the Brooks Eckerd stores. The decrease in accounts payable was primarily due to conforming vendor terms as part of the integration efforts.

        Cash used in investing activities was $120.5 million in fiscal 2010. Cash was used for the purchase of property, plant and equipment and prescription files which was offset in part by proceeds from asset dispositions.

        Cash used in investing activities was $346.4 million in fiscal 2009. Cash was used for the purchase of property, plant and equipment and prescription files which was offset in part by proceeds from our sale leaseback transactions and proceeds from asset dispositions.

        Cash used in investing activities was $2,933.7 million in fiscal 2008. Cash used was primarily for the acquisition of Brooks Eckerd and purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets offset by proceeds from sale-leaseback transactions and asset dispositions.

        Cash provided by financing activities was $397.1 million in fiscal 2010 due to proceeds from refinancings offset by a reduction in borrowings on our revolving credit facility and the payment of financing fees related to the refinancings.

        Cash used in financing activities was $17.3 million in fiscal 2009 due to the net impact of proceeds from the issuance of convertible notes and redemption of various notes, amending of our credit facility and principal payments on long term debt.

        Cash provided by financing activities was $2,904.0 million in fiscal 2008. Cash provided by financing was primarily provided by proceeds from issuance of long-term debt utilized to fund the Brooks Eckerd acquisition, net proceeds from our revolving credit facility, the change in the zero balance cash accounts and net proceeds from the issuance of common stock, offset by financing costs paid, scheduled debt payments and preferred stock dividends.

Capital Expenditures

        We plan to make total capital expenditures of approximately $250 million during fiscal 2011, consisting of approximately 21% related to the new store construction and store relocation, 12%

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related to store remodels and 67% related to prescription file purchases, infrastructure and maintenance requirements. Management expects that these capital expenditures will be financed primarily with cash flow from operating activities and use of the revolving credit facility.

Future Liquidity

        We are highly leveraged. Our high level of indebtedness: (i) limits our ability to obtain additional financing; (ii) limits our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry; (iii) places us at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors with less debt; (iv) renders us more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions; and (v) requires us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to service our debt. Based upon our current levels of operations, we believe that cash flow from operations together with available borrowings under the senior secured credit facility and other sources of liquidity will be adequate to meet our requirements for working capital, debt service and capital expenditures for the next twelve months. Based on our liquidity position, which we expect to remain strong throughout the year, we do not expect the restriction on our credit facility, that could result if we fail to meet the fixed charge covenant in our senior secured credit facility, to have any impact on our business in the next twelve months. We will continue to assess our liquidity position and potential sources of supplemental liquidity in light of our operating performance, and other relevant circumstances. Should we determine, at any time, that it is necessary to obtain additional short-term liquidity, we will evaluate our alternatives and take appropriate steps to obtain sufficient additional funds. There can be no assurance that any such supplemental funding, if sought, could be obtained or if obtained, would be on terms acceptable to us. From time to time, we may enter into transactions to exchange debt for shares of common stock in order to reduce our outstanding debt.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

        Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to allowance for uncollectible receivables, inventory shrink, impairment, self insurance liabilities, pension benefits, lease exit liabilities, income taxes and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience, current and anticipated business conditions, the condition of the financial markets and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under existing conditions. Variability reflected in the sensitivity analyses presented below is based on our recent historical experience. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates and sensitivity analyses.

        The following critical accounting policies require the use of significant judgments and estimates by management:

        Allowance for uncollectible receivables:    Almost all of our prescription sales are made to customers that are covered by third party payors, such as insurance companies, prescription benefit management companies, government agencies, private employers, health maintenance organizations or other managed care providers. We recognize and report receivables that represent the amount owed to us for sales made to customers, who are employees or members of those payors, which have not yet been paid. We maintain an allowance for the amount of these receivables deemed to be uncollectible. This allowance is calculated based upon historical collection and write-off activity adjusted for current conditions. The estimated bad debt write-off rate is calculated by dividing historical write-offs for the most recent twelve months, for which collection activities have been completed, by third party payor sales for the same period. A bad debt expense is recognized by applying the estimated write-off rate to

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third party payor sales for the period. There have been no significant changes in the assumptions used to calculate our estimated write-off rate over the past three years. If the financial condition of the payors were to deteriorate, resulting in an inability to make payments, an additional reserve would be recorded in the period in which the change in financial condition first became known. Based on current conditions, we do not expect a significant change to our write-off rate in future periods. A one basis point difference in our estimated write-off rate for the year ended February 27, 2010, would have affected pretax income by approximately $1.4 million.

        Inventory:    The carrying value of our inventory is reduced by a reserve for estimated shrink losses that occur between physical inventory dates. When estimating these losses, we consider historical loss results at specific locations (including stores and distribution centers), as well as overall loss trends as determined during physical inventory procedures. The estimated shrink rate is calculated by dividing historical shrink results for stores inventoried in the most recent six months by the sales for the same period. Shrink expense is recognized by applying the estimated shrink rate to sales since the last physical inventory. There have been no significant changes in the assumptions used to calculate our shrink rate over the last three years. Although possible, we do not expect a significant change to our shrink rate in future periods. A 10 basis point difference in our estimated shrink rate for the year ended February 27, 2010, would have affected pre-tax income by approximately $9.5 million.

        Impairment of Long-Lived Assets:    We evaluate long-lived assets for impairment annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets may not be recoverable. We have identified each store as an asset group for purposes of performing this evaluation. Our evaluation of whether possible impairment indicators exist includes comparing future cash flows expected to be generated by the store to the carrying value of the store's assets. If the estimated future cash flows of the asset group (store level) are less than the carrying amount of the store's assets, we calculate an impairment loss by comparing the carrying value of the store's assets to the fair value of such assets. We determine fair value by discounting the estimated future cash flows of the store discussed above.

        Cash flows are calculated utilizing the detailed store financial plan for the year immediately following the current year end. To arrive at cash flow estimates for additional future years, we project sales growth by store (consistent with our overall business planning objectives and results), and determine the incremental cash flow that such sales growth will contribute to that store's operations. The discount rate used is our credit adjusted risk-free interest rate.

        The assumptions utilized in calculating impairment are updated annually. Should actual sales growth rates and related incremental cash flow differ from those forecasted and projected, we may incur future impairment charges related to the stores being evaluated. Changes in our discount rate of 50 basis points would not have a material impact on the total impairment recorded in fiscal 2010.

        Self-insurance liabilities:    We expense claims for self-insured medical, dental, workers' compensation and general liability insurance coverage as incurred including an estimate for claims incurred but not paid. The expense for self-insured medical and dental claims incurred but not paid is determined by multiplying the average claim value paid over the most recent twelve months by the average number of days from the same period between when the claims were incurred and paid. There have been no significant changes in assumptions used to determine days lag over the last three years. Should a greater amount of claims occur compared to what was previously estimated or medical costs increase beyond what was anticipated, expense recorded may not be sufficient, and additional expense may be recorded. A one day change in days lag for the year ended February 27, 2010, would have affected pretax income by approximately $0.6 million.

        The expense for self-insured workers' compensation and general liability claims incurred but not paid is determined using several factors, including historical claims experience and development, severity of claims, medical costs and the time needed to settle claims. We discount the estimated expense for workers' compensation to present value as the time period from incurrence of the claim to

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final settlement can be several years. We base our estimates for such timing on previous settlement activity. The discount rate is based on the current market rates for Treasury bills that approximate the average time to settle the workers' compensation claims. These assumptions are updated on an annual basis. A 25 basis point difference in the discount rate for the year ended February 27, 2010, would have affected pretax income by approximately $1.9 million.

        Benefit plan accrual:    We have several defined benefit plans, under which participants earn a retirement benefit based upon a formula set forth in the plan. We record expense related to these plans using actuarially determined amounts that utilize various assumptions. Key assumptions used in the actuarial valuations include the mortality rate, the discount rate, the expected rate of return on plan assets and the rate of increase in future compensation levels. These rates are updated annually and are based on available public information, market interest rates and internal plans regarding compensation and any other changes impacting benefits.

        These assumptions have not significantly changed over the last three years, except that the discount rate has been adjusted due to changes in rates derived from published high-quality long-term bond indices, the terms of which approximate the term of the cash flows to pay the accumulated benefit obligations when due. A decrease of 25 basis points in the discount rate, assuming no other changes in the estimates, increases the amount of the projected benefit obligation and the related required expense by $3.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

        Lease exit liabilities:    We record reserves for closed stores based on future lease commitments, anticipated ancillary occupancy costs and anticipated future subleases of properties. The reserves are calculated at the individual location level and the assumptions are assessed at that level. The reserve for lease exit liabilities is discounted using a credit adjusted risk free interest rate. Reserve estimates and related assumptions are updated on a quarterly basis.

        A substantial amount of our closed stores were closed prior to our adoption of ASC 420, "Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations." Therefore, if interest rates change, reserves may be increased or decreased. In addition, changes in the real estate leasing markets can have an impact on the reserve. As of February 27, 2010, a 50 basis point variance in the credit adjusted risk free interest rate would have affected pretax income by approximately $3.3 million for fiscal 2010.

        Income taxes:    We currently have net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards that can be utilized to offset future income for federal and state tax purposes. These NOLs generate significant deferred tax assets which are currently offset by a valuation allowance. We regularly review the deferred tax assets for recoverability considering the relative impact of negative and positive evidence including our historical profitability, projected taxable income, the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences and tax planning strategies. The weight given to the potential effect of the negative and positive evidence is commensurate with the extent to which it can be objectively verified. We establish a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets when we determine that it is more likely than not that some portion of our deferred tax assets will not be realized. There have been no significant changes in the assumptions used to calculate our valuation allowance over the last three years. However, changes in market conditions and the impact of the acquisition of Brooks Eckerd on operations have caused changes in the valuation allowance from period to period which were included in the tax provision in the period of change.

        We recognize tax liabilities in accordance with ASC 740, "Income Taxes" and we adjust these liabilities when our judgment changes as a result of the evaluation of new information not previously available. Due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from our current estimate of the tax liabilities.

        Litigation reserves:    We are involved in litigation on an on-going basis. We accrue our best estimate of the probable loss related to legal claims. Such estimates are based upon a combination of litigation

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and settlement strategies. These estimates are updated as the facts and circumstances of the cases develop and/or change. To the extent additional information arises or our strategies change, it is possible that our best estimate of the probable liability may also change. Changes to these reserves during the last three fiscal years were not material.

Adjusted EBITDA

        In addition to net income determined in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP measures in assessing our operating performance. We believe the adjusted non-GAAP measure serves as an appropriate measure to be used in evaluating the performance of our business. We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss excluding the impact of income taxes, interest expense and securitization costs, depreciation and amortization, LIFO adjustments, charges or credits for facility closing and impairment, inventory write-down liquidation expenses, stock-based compensation expense, debt modifications and retirements, sale of assets and investments and other items. We reference this non-GAAP financial measure frequently in our decision-making because it provides supplemental information that facilitates internal comparisons to the historical operating performance of prior periods and external comparisons to competitors' historical operating performance and gives a better indication of our core operating performance. In addition, we base incentive compensation and our forward-looking estimates on adjusted EBITDA to facilitate quantification of planned business activities and enhance subsequent follow-up. We include this non-GAAP financial measure in our earnings announcement and guidance in order to provide transparency to our investors and enable investors to better compare our operating performance with the operating performance of our competitors. Management believes that adjusted EBITDA also facilitates comparisons of our results of operations with those of companies having different capital structures. However, we do not, and do not recommend that adjusted non-GAAP measures are solely used to assess our financial performance or to formulate investment decisions. Additionally, our definition of adjusted EBITDA may not be calculated in the same manner as other companies.

        The following is a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to our net loss for fiscal 2010, 2009 and 2008:

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