RETAILING

PayLess to Close 35 Drugstores: The closures, set for April 2, will include 20 stores in California. PayLess said the decision was unrelated to its pending acquisition by Thrifty Drug Stores of California. A PayLess spokeswoman said the closures--the broadest in company history--will affect about 600 employees, most of whom will be reassigned. California locations to be closed include two in San Bernardino and one each in Antioch, Chico, Folsom, Fairfield, Hemet, Hesperia, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga, Red Bluff, Rialto, Riverside, San Marcos, Temecula, Torrance, Visalia and Vista.