Rite Aid to move to new ‘remote-first’ headquarters — in Philadelphia
Rite Aid is moving its corporate headquarters from its longtime location in Camp Hill, Pa., to a new “enterprise headquarters” in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard district.
The new 23,000-sq.-ft headquarters, projected to open in the first half of 2022, will take a remote-first work approach, focusing on flexibility for associates while also creating an official headquarters space. (Most of Rite Aid’s 2,800-plus corporate associates have been working remotely since the pandemic began.) It will be designed specifically for in-person collaboration and company gatherings, rather than office spaces. Rite Aid is currently working with a design firm to build out the space.
In addition, Rite Aid teams will be able to come together for in-person meetings, training and development, and more at planned regional collaboration centers across the country. One of the centers will be located in Central Pennsylvania, near the company’s former Camp Hill headquarters.
Rite Aid said an internal survey found a vast majority of corporate associates preferred working from home, citing greater flexibility, work-life balance and more productivity. But the employees also indicated a desire to have opportunities to meet, collaborate and learn together in-person.
In response to the feedback, Rite Aid said it is formalizing its work-from-home approach “with thoughtfully structured policies, new technology, resources, and spaces to support meaningful collaboration across the enterprise.”
“We’re changing our business from the inside out, and our reimagined workplace is the latest exciting step toward the future of this company,” said Rite Aid CEO Heyward Donigan. “We believe in remote work, and as we lean into it for the long term, we are investing in a physical footprint that will facilitate its best version. We’ve heard directly from our associates that teams want and need to meet in-person, and we think we’ve found the right balance between the flexibility of remote work and the power of on-site collaboration.”
Rite Aid operates more than 2,500 locations across 17 states. It also provides pharmacy benefits and services to millions of members nationwide through its Elixir business unit.
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