This popular ice cream chain closing 500 stores. Here's why
A popular ice cream brand based in the United States is closing 500 of its stores nationwide, thanks to a move that resulted in collateral damage.
Pharmacy company Rite Aid is filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, resulting in the closure of 500 hand-scooped ice cream counters of Thrifty Ice Cream. The Rite Aid-owned company will thus bear the brunt of its parent going out of business, as per a report by The Street.
When companies like Rite Aid file for bankruptcy, they are forced to close down other brands they own, even if they become successful on their own.
Rite Aid currently has 500 pharmacies inside which there are counters of Thrifty Ice Cream.
Thrifty gained popularity through the unique scoop it provides. Instead of a spherical scoop of ice cream, Thrifty Ice Cream is cube-shaped. It is also known for its innovative flavours.
'Thrifty ice cream was launched in 1940 at a small factory in West Hollywood. Angelenos soon flocked to the flagship Thrifty Drug Store in downtown Los Angeles to sample ice cream from the soda fountain. The high-quality, small-batch ice cream even snagged awards from the L.A. County Fair. By the 1970s, Thrifty ice cream had attained cult status along the West Coast, with significant celebrity shoutouts,' Thrifty says on its website.
According to The Street, Thrifty outlets inside Rite Aid pharmacy stores have to close down mandatorily. Since the 500 Thrifty ice cream outlets are not outside Rite Aid stores and sells the products within the pharmacy's roofs itself, they cannot be sold as a separate asset.
However, some franchised Thrifty ice cream outlets are not owned by Rite Aid.
'You can find Thrifty ice cream in the freezer section of your favorite retailers, like Rite Aid, Albertsons, Vons and more. You can also find it at scoop counters across California, Arizona and a growing number of regions in the U.S. and Mexico,' Thrifty website states.
As part of Rite Aid's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Thrifty Ice Cream will be sold as an asset.
A buyer could choose to keep operating the brand, selling pints, quarts, and packaged ice cream to grocery chains. It can also choose to supply to the non-Rite Aid-owned ice cream counters.
However, with Rite Aid's bankruptcy, Thrifty Ice Cream's future as a whole still remains uncertain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Unjustifiably low' satcom spectrum price, says COAI
India's top telcos have slammed the satcom recommendations from the telecom regulator , terming the spectrum price as 'unjustifiably low' and said that the proposals are based on "incorrect assumptions" and are "non-transparent". In their first reaction to the recommendations given by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) last month, all three bitter rival operators have closed ranks and said that if implemented in the current form, the regulator's satcom suggestions would create a non-level playing field and impact the sustainability of terrestrial services . In a strongly worded joint letter through the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to various government authorities, seen by ET, the carriers highlighted data and said the planned capacity of Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Jeff Bezos led-Amazon Kuiper are set to surpass the current capacity of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here For More On cyber security expertinspector Click Here Undo "These recommendations are non-transparent based on non-justifiable assumption rather than factual data," the telcos said in the letter, marked to Trai, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Finance Ministry, Commerce ministry, Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) and Niti Aayog etc. The operators have said the proposed spectrum charges are even lower than the administrative fees currently levied on GSO-based VSAT services-which do not compete with terrestrial networks. "It appears that Trai has underestimated the potential capacities of satellite network while possibly overstating those of terrestrial networks that have resulted in a flawed foundation for the entire exercise," the letter said, adding this fundamental flaw in the capacity assumptions exercise undermines the DoT's clear mandate to ensure competitive parity between satellite and terrestrial services. Trai had recommended the administrative allocation of satcom spectrum for a fee pegged at 4% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to be assigned for five years. There won't be any upfront fee for getting spectrum. Live Events Trai chairman AK Lahoti had categorically rejected the level-playing field argument by telcos, stating that the two technologies were different and that satellites could only be complementary. "It's not factually correct that satcom services are competing with terrestrial services because there is a huge difference between the capacity of the terrestrial network and the satellite network," he had said while releasing the recommendations. The telcos, however, feel the entire exercise was flawed as it was based on incorrect assumptions. "Despite a clear mandate from DoT, Trai's consultation process and final recommendations do not appear to address the core issue of competitive parity which shows a misalignment between the intent of DoT references and Trai's approach during the consultation process," the telcos said. The additional proposal by Trai to subsidise user terminals or satellite operators through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) fund further tilts the level playing field against the terrestrial operator, especially given that a majority of the DBN levy is contributed by telcos.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Commercial freezers are the hottest thing in town this summer
The demand for commercial refrigeration products such as deep freezer and bottle coolers or visi coolers in India has touched unprecedented levels, far outstripping supplies amid the quick commerce boom and cola war, said industry executives. Commercial refrigeration manufacturers such as Blue Star , Voltas and Haier said sales have been surging 25-50% year-on-year since January, after initial hiccups in the April-September 2024 period, when India adopted the quality control order (QCO) for products like water coolers which impacted the supply chain. The QCO issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mandates companies to source and manufacture products from BIS-certified companies, encouraging local production over exports from countries like China. "The cola war by Reliance's Campa, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo has boosted demand for visi coolers, with all our capacities sold out for the next five months and demand much more than we can supply," said Haier India president Satish NS. He said overall commercial refrigeration is growing 35% year-on-year, while visi coolers are seeing more than 50% expansion. Blue Star, too, has seen a sharp increase in demand for commercial refrigeration products from quick commerce, ice cream and frozen food companies with a strong order book. "The growth potential is very high as India is underpenetrated," said managing director B. Thiagarajan. He said the business has potential to grow at 30%. Reliance Consumer Products started the cola war in the second half of 2024-25 with aggressive pricing of '10 per 200 ml bottle and expanding distribution to kirana stores. The company said on its latest earnings call that Campa had already gained double-digit market share in some markets and had expanded distribution to more than a million retail stores. James Quincey, global CEO of The Coca-Cola Co, told analysts in May that about 350,000 outlets were added in India in the March quarter and the company increased cooler placements. The chairman of PepsiCo's top bottler in India, Varun Beverages , Ravi Jaipuria, too, said the increased competition was making the industry put in place more chilling equipment. Jaipuria told analysts there were around 12 million fast-moving consumer goods outlets in India, while the company reached only four million. "So there is still so much room for everyone to add new outlets through increased go-to-market and by putting in more chilling equipment," he said. The size of the commercial refrigeration market in India is estimated at around '4,500 crore and the growth rate is faster than for any electronics products such as televisions, smartphones, air-conditioners, refrigerators and laptops. The country's largest home-grown contract manufacturer, Dixon Tech , recently announced that it would start production of deep freezers and visi coolers. Tata-owned Voltas' chief financial officer KV Sridhar told analysts that the order book in the pipeline for commercial refrigeration products reflected huge growth potential with a ramp-up of factories.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
After President Vladimir Putin's 'warning', one of Microsoft's Russian unit may file for bankruptcy
A Russian subsidiary of Microsoft is planning to file for bankruptcy, a report claims. This comes after President Vladimir Putin recently said that foreign service providers like Microsoft and Zoom should be "throttled" to improve domestic software solutions. The planned bankruptcy declaration for one of Microsoft's Russian units was reportedly published via a note on Fedresurs, Russia's official online registry for legally significant corporate information. However, the tech giant has yet to share a comment regarding the potential bankruptcy of its Russian subsidiary or President Putin's remarks. Microsoft maintained critical services in Russia following Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but in June 2022 announced a major reduction of its operations there due to shifts in the economic outlook and their effects on its business. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the company had already pulled RT's mobile apps from the Windows App Store and prohibited ads on Russian state–sponsored media shortly after the invasion. A recent notice posted on Fedresurs indicated that Microsoft Rus LLC plans to file for bankruptcy, the report claimed. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Microsoft also operates three additional Russian entities in the country, which are: Microsoft Development Centre Rus, Microsoft Mobile Rus, and Microsoft Payments Rus. However, the report doesn't mention the status of these subsidiaries. When other major tech companies faced problems in Russia In 2022, Alphabet-owned Google's Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy after Russian authorities seized its bank account, rendering operations, such as paying local employees, suppliers, and vendors, impossible. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
