Rite Aid’s New HQ Embraces 'New Normal' Work Life
Rite Aid has decided to make the City of Brotherly Love its new corporate home. The retailer unveiled its headquarters in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard district on July 13. The new Rite Aid Collaboration Center, located on the second floor of 1200 Intrepid Avenue, will bring Rite Aid’s remote corporate workforce and associates together in a modern space with state-of-the-art amenities.
The company touts that its new headquarters, with its accessibility to major transportation, offers teams across Rite Aid’s various businesses – including Rite Aid retail pharmacy, Elixir, Health Dialog and Bartell Drugs – space to meet, collaborate, engage clients and partners, and cultivate the kind of strong professional relationships necessary for successful remote teams, which have increased across all of corporate America as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 23,000-square-foot collaboration center, designed by Wynnewood, Pa.-based Meyer Design, features a variety of conference room styles equipped with digital Neat Boards for video conferencing, a digital/video studio, a Genius Bar to support IT needs, and associate amenities, including a catering kitchen, multiple food and beverage stations, a business center and a respite room for nursing, prayer and meditation. Rite Aid has entered into a long-term lease with Ensemble Real Estate Solutions for the space, which can accommodate up to 300 Rite Aid associates.
Rite Aid has a rich history in Pennsylvania. The retailer’s previous headquarters was located in Camp Hill, Pa. Rite Aid opened its first store – then Thrif D Discount Center in Scranton – 60 years ago. Today, Rite Aid has 223 of its 2,350 stores in Philadelphia and its surrounding area.
“This new collaboration space represents how we are modernizing our brand from the inside out,” said Rite Aid President and CEO Heyward Donigan. “We are not only transforming our business to better serve our customers, but we are embracing new ways of working that blend a remote-first corporate workforce with opportunities for in-person collaboration.”
In regard to the company’s business transformation, Donigan emphasized on a recent Q1 earnings call that the company is refocusing its efforts to become a leading “full-service and modern pharmacy.” Services will encompass both prescriptions and retail goods to create a one-stop- shopping experience.
Additionally, following the previously revealed closing of more than 140 stores, Rite Aid is on track to open at least five of its new small-format pharmacies this year. These small-format pharmacies will be located in underserved rural markets in Indiana, upstate New York and Virginia, and will feature a limited over-the-counter front end.
With more than 2,300 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states, Rite Aid is No. 21 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
