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CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. plans to construct a new distribution center in Spartanburg, S.C., which will be the drug chain’s first new facility in 15 years.
Rite Aid Corp. plans to construct a new distribution center in Spartanburg, S.C., which will be the drug chain’s first new facility in 15 years.
Rite Aid said Wednesday that that the 900,000-square-foot distribution center, a $90 million project, is slated to open in 2016 and will support the inventory and fulfillment needs of about 1,000 Rite Aid drug stores in the Southeast.
"Spartanburg is an ideal location for our new distribution center," chairman and chief executive officer John Standley said in a statement. "We thank the state of South Carolina for their cooperation and support during our site selection process, and we look forward to breaking ground on our new facility, which will help us to further optimize our supply chain and better serve our stores and customers across the Southeast."
Currently, Rite Aid operates 11 distribution centers and a half-dozen satellite distribution facilities that serve its nearly 4,600 stores in 31 states.
Last April, the company announced that it planned to consolidate three distribution centers — Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Poca, W.Va. — into one new facility as part of its ongoing efficiency efforts.
Rite Aid said it’s working with Spartanburg-based real estate developer Johnson Development Associates on the project, which will employ about 600 people after it becomes fully operational. The drug chain currently employs nearly 1,400 people and operates 95 stores in South Carolina.
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the new facility, and the South Carolina Power Team, in tandem with Broad River Electric Cooperative, committed a $550,000 grant for infrastructure in support of the project, according to Rite Aid.
"This $90 million investment that will create hundreds of jobs in the Upstate will make a real difference in the local community," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley stated. "We welcome Rite Aid to the South Carolina family and look forward to watching them succeed here for many years to come."
The new distribution facility reflects Rite Aid’s increasing expansion efforts in the wake of its financial turnaround.
Last year, Rite Aid acquired retail clinic operator RediClinic and health coaching specialist Health Dialog as part of its strategy to expand its health care offering. The retailer aims to open 11 new stores, relocate 16 stores and remodel 450 locations to its Wellness Store format in the current 2015 fiscal year, and company executives indicated that the chain expects to devote more attention to relocations and net new stores over the next several years. Rite Aid, too, has stepped up prescription file buys in recent years, with plans to spend $100 million to that end in fiscal 2015.
