Thrifty Says It Plans to Stay in L.A. : Retailing: The drug store chain operator says it wants to play a part in revitalizing the city.

Thrifty Corp., the privately owned operator of the Thrifty Drug Stores chain, announced Tuesday that it has decided against moving its corporate headquarters out of Los Angeles.

Thrifty, at a press conference at its headquarters at 3424 Wilshire Blvd., said it had been considering relocation offers from communities in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The company’s board of directors decided to remain in Los Angeles during a meeting last week, Thrifty executives said.

Thrifty President Dan Seigel, in an interview Tuesday, said the company could have reduced its rental payments by one-third by moving to other Southland sites.

Seigel--sharing the press conference platform with Mayor Tom Bradley, Rebuild L.A. Co-Chairman Peter Ueberroth and four members of the Los Angeles City Council--said Thrifty decided against moving because the company wants to play a role in the revitalization of Los Angeles.

The board’s decision has no bearing on Thrifty’s retail operations--125 of the firm’s 552 drug stores are in the Los Angeles area.

However, about 900 people--many of them Los Angeles residents--are employed at Thrifty’s headquarters.

“We urge others to stay and be part of the solution--to create new jobs and new opportunities for the people who live here,” Seigel said. Leonard Green of Leonard Green & Partners, a Los Angeles investment firm which acquired Thrifty from Pacific Enterprises in May, 1992, also attended the press conference.