Perry Drug Stores Explained

Perry Drug Stores
Fate:Acquired by Rite aid
Successor:Rite Aid
Location:Pontiac, Michigan, United States
Industry:Retail
Key People:Jack A. Robinson - chief executive officer, founder
David Schwartz - chief operating officer, president
Jerry Stone - chief financing officer, vice president
Products:Retail, Pharmacy

Perry Drug Stores was an American retail pharmacy chain founded in 1957 in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, United States. At its peak in the 1980s, Perry operated more than 200 drug stores, primarily in the state of Michigan, as well as 200 Auto Works auto parts stores and fourteen A. L. Price discount health and beauty aids outlets. In 1995, Perry Drug Stores was bought out by Rite Aid, a pharmacy chain based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The Perry chain, which at the time comprised 224 stores, was the largest acquisition ever made by Rite Aid. In addition, this acquisition brought the Rite Aid name to the Detroit area for the first time.

History

Founder Jack A. Robinson opened his first Perry Drug Store in 1957 on Perry Street in Pontiac, Michigan.[1]

In 1978, a prototype Perry store was opened, featuring an expanded sporting goods line, a home and automotive center, and live pets for sale.[2] Auto Works, an automotive parts retail chain, was introduced in 1982.[2]

Twenty-six Cunningham Drug locations were spun off by the chain's owner into a new chain called Apex Drug. By 1985, the Apex Drug locations and several other Cunningham locations were acquired by Perry, while the Cunningham locations in Florida remained in operation.[3]

In 1981, Perry Drug expanded into the Chicago, Illinois market for the first time.[4] (The chain had previously tried to enter Chicago through a failed acquisition of DeKoven Drugs.)[2] A year later, these stores were sold to businessmen Fred Barney and Bill Cartwright, two veteran businessmen who formed the Chicago operations into Perry Drug Chicago.[5]

Several units in Michigan were acquired in 1990 from Revco.[6] This acquisition made Perry the dominant drugstore chain in the Detroit area and expanded Perry's presence to the Upper Peninsula for the first time.[6]

1990s: Sale to Rite Aid

Perry Drug Stores posted a brief period of sharp declines in sales in 1990, with locations in Indiana and Wisconsin being sold off.[7] [8] By 1993, the Perry Drug Chicago locations were re-acquired and liquidated.[9]

After its out-of-state operations were sold, Perry continued to expand its presence within Michigan. Many locations were remodeled to the chain's "store of the '90s" format;[7] in addition, an online computer system called PerryLink was implemented at all stores, allowing for customers to have their prescriptions filled at any location.[10]

Rite Aid, a drugstore chain based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, acquired twenty-five locations from Hook's Drug Stores in 1994, subsequently selling nine of the locations to Perry.[11] One year later, Rite Aid acquired all 224 of Perry Drug Stores' locations, including the former Hook's Drugs locations.[12] The acquisition of Perry Drug Stores in 1995 was the largest acquisition made by Rite Aid. It also brought Rite Aid to the Detroit area, where it previously had no stores.[13] [14]

Perry Drug Stores, Inc. remained an active subsidiary of Rite Aid (owning stores held by the company at its closure), as shown in the company's October 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.[15]

Other operations

In addition to the drugstore chain, Perry owned two other specialty chains: Auto Works and A.L. Price.

Auto Works

Unlike other drug stores, Perry diversified by carry non-traditional items such as automotive parts like brakes, shocks, exhaust systems, and carburetors in their drug stores as early as 1975.[16] [17] By 1978, Perry would have 15 out of its 56 stores, all in lower Michigan, carrying auto parts.[18]

A few years later, Perry decided to open standalone auto part stores called Auto Works. By March 1983, three stores had been open in Michigan and Chicago with plans to open 20 more.[19]

In July 1983, Perry signed a letter of intent to acquire Indianapolis-based Fleenor's Inc. with its chain of 50 auto part stores in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.[20] [21] After the acquisition was finalized, the Fleenor Auto Supply stores were rebranded FAS Auto Works.[22] In October 1984, Perry acquired Corvair Auto Parts with its chain of 46 auto part stores in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.[23] [24] [25]

By May 1985, all FAS Auto Works and Corvair Auto Works stores were rebrand to just Auto Works.[26]

Perry sold its Auto works division with its 252 stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia to Northern Automotive in Northern Automotive for $51 million in February 1988.[27]

After five years of ownership, Northern Automotive failed to turn the ailing chain around and subsequently sold Auto Works with its 159 retail stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia to Hahn Automotive Warehouse in November 1993 for $13 million in cash.[28] [29]

Hahn finally closed Auto Works with its 53 stores in August 1997 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[30]

A.L. Price

A.L. Price was a deep-discount health and beauty aids retailer with sixteen locations in the Detroit area that was started in 1983.

A.L. Price had 16 stores at the beginning of 1990.[31] In April 1990, Perry Drug Stores announced that it has plans to sell off fourteen of its sixteen A. L. Price locations for $14.8 million and convert the remaining two into Perry Drug stores, as part of a decision to focus entirely on the drugstore chain itself.[32] [33] In March 1993, the chain, under new management, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, A.L. Price had 12 stores.[34] As one of the creditors, Perry initially announced that it plans to buy all 12 stores back for $2 million plus inventory,[35] but latter change the number to 11 and increase the purchase price to $10.8 million[36] [37]

By May 1994, Perry closed all of the re-purchased A.L. Price stores, except for three. Perry had plans of converting one of the stores into a Perry store, merging the inventory of the second store into an nearby existing Perry store, and no announced plans for the remaining store.[38] The remaining three stores were finally closed by the end of 1994 with plans of converting two of the stores into drive-through pharmacies.[39]

Notes and References

  1. News: September 13, 1993 . Robinson leads Perry forward . Chain Drug Review . Racher Press, Inc. . 56 . 15 . 20 "Special Anniversary Issue: 15 Years of Chain Drug Retailing" . 0164-9914 . Factiva chdr000020011031dp9d000hw. ..
  2. News: September 15, 2003 . Twenty-five years at a glance. . Chain Drug Review . Racher Press, Inc. . 59+ . 25 . 15 . 0164-9914 . Factiva CHDR000020040116dz9f0005l. ..
  3. News: September 10, 1990 . Devine, new Affil./Assoc. prez, gears up for the '90s . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 3+ . 12 . 16 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011115dm9a000e3. ..
  4. News: September 11, 1989 . Perry extends tactics to Illinois . Chain Drug Review . Racher Press, Inc. . 40+ . 12 . 1 . 0164-9914 . Factiva chdr000020011116dl9b0007h. ..
  5. News: Frederick . James . December 9, 1991 . Perry Chicago gets a remake . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090703170556/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n22_v13/ai_11791595/ . 2009-07-03 . 2007-11-27 . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 1+ . 13 . 22 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011109dnc9000eq. ..
  6. News: Frederick . James . July 23, 1990 . Perry Drug snaps up 24 more Mich. Revcos . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20041130151940/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n14_v12/ai_9298805 . 2004-11-30 . 2007-11-27 . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 1+ . 12 . 14 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011115dm7n000c3. ..
  7. News: Frederick . James . January 7, 1991 . Perry Drug predicts rebound from '90 loss . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050528180436/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n1_v13/ai_9313612 . 2005-05-28 . 2007-11-27 . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 1+ . 13 . 1 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011109dn1700004. ..
  8. News: Perry Drops Wisconsin, Indiana Money-Losers . Joyner . Tammy . . March 14, 1990 . 2 . .
  9. News: June 7, 1993 . Perry Drug Chicago on brink of extinction . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 3+ . 15 . 11 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011031dp6700061. ..
  10. News: August 20, 1990 . Perry computers tie Rx into network . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . IP3 . 12 . 15 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011115dm8k000dn. ..
  11. News: November 21, 1994 . Rite Aid, Perry grow in Michigan . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080122152442/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3007/is_199411/ai_n7706707 . 2008-01-22 . 2007-11-27 . Chain Drug Review . Racher Press, Inc. . 16 . 22 . 0164-9914 . Factiva chdr000020011028dqbl000ma. ..
  12. News: Fried . Lisa I. . February 20, 1995 . Perry-Rite Aid consolidation begins . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060618043722/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n3_v17/ai_16541601 . 2006-06-18 . 2007-11-27 . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. / EnsembleIQ . 4 . 17 . 3 . 0191-7587 . . Factiva drsn000020011025dr2k0000w. ..
  13. News: January 9, 1995 . Rite Aid agrees to buy Perry Drug for $132 million . Corporate Growth Report Weekly . Quality Services Company / NVST, Inc. . 7269 . Santa Barbara, US . 826 . .
  14. Web site: Rite Aid: About Us: History . 2007-11-28 . Rite Aid . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012035730/http://www.riteaid.com/company/about/history.jsf . 2007-10-12.
  15. Web site: Perry Drug Stores, Inc. Files For Bankruptcy. October 15, 2023. October 15, 2023. BKData. en.
  16. October 1981 . Pushing Automotives to New Heights . Discount Merchandiser . Redcoat Publishing / VNU eMedia, Inc. . Bristol, US . 21 . 10 . 24 –31? (8 pp.) . 00123579 . .
  17. News: Mitchell . Gordon . July 12, 1976 . Fast-Growing Perry Drug Stores To Ring Up Another Profits Peak . Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly . Dow Jones & Company Inc. . 28, 30 . Boston, Mass., US . 56 . 28 . 00056073 . .
  18. News: March 13, 1978 . Perry Drug Stores Comes Up With Right Prescription for Growth . Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly . Dow Jones & Company Inc. . 31–32 . Boston, Mass., US . 58 . 11 . 00056073 . .
  19. News: March 16, 1983 . Stockholder Meeting Briefs . . Dow Jones & Company Inc. . 38 . New York, N.Y., US . 00999660 . .
  20. News: Drugstore to buy Fleenor's Inc. . . 24 . July 27, 1983 . . subscription.
  21. News: Fleenor's sale to Perry chain mean new jobs in Muncie . . 15 . July 29, 1983 . .
  22. News: FAS Auto Works ad . . 10D . October 10, 1983 . .
  23. News: Perry Drug has more auto parts units than drug stores . The Pink Sheet . October 22, 1984.
  24. News: Local FAS Auto Works on list of stores eyed for acquisition . Mark . Braykovich . . October 29, 1984 . 11 . .
  25. News: Perry Drug to Add 46 Car Part Stores . . October 11, 1984 . D5.
  26. News: Auto Works ad . . 15D . May 5, 1985 . .
  27. Web site: Halverson . Richard C. . February 15, 1988 . Schuck's Group buys Auto Works - Northern Automotive, formerly Checker-Schuck's-Kragen . https://web.archive.org/web/20050518060345/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n4_v27/ai_6352605 . May 18, 2005 . September 11, 2024 . Discount Store News.
  28. News: November 1, 1993 . Business Brief -- Hahn Automotive Warehouse Inc.: Auto Works to Be Acquired From Northern Retail Corp. . . J . Dow Jones . NO PAGE CITATION . New York, N.Y., US . 00999660 . Factiva j000000020011031dpb100s5v. ..
  29. Hahn Automotive Warehouse 10Q . December 31, 1996 . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  30. News: Michigan Auto Works stores started sales last Saturday . . August 26, 1997 . 6 . . Google News.
  31. News: F&M Will Expand as Newcomer Enters Market . Wilson . Melinda . . 6 . 5 . January 29, 1990 . 3 . .
  32. News: May 21, 1990 . Perry agrees to divest its 14 A.L. Price units. . Chain Drug Review . Racher Press, Inc. . 1+ . 12 . 16 . 0164-9914 . Factiva chdr000020011115dm5l00093. ..
  33. News: Perry Drug Will Sell A.L. Price . Tompor . Susan . . April 24, 1990 . 1 . . Perry Drug Stores Inc. said Monday it will sell 14 A.L. Price deep discount stores to a former president of F & M Distributors Inc., another discount chain. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal is expected to be completed by May 31. A.L. Price, founded by Perry Drug in 1983, employs about 400 people... A.L. Price had operated 16 stores in Michigan. But Falbaum said Perry does not plan to sell two stores, one each in Okemos and Battle Creek. He said the chain will study converting those outlets into Perry Drug .
  34. News: A.L. Price chain forced to declare bankruptcy . . A9 . March 16, 1993 . King . Angela.
  35. Perry Drug Stores proposes to acquire 12 A.L. Price stores . April 23, 1993 . . Perry Drug . .
  36. News: July 26, 1993 . Perry completes takeover of A.L. Price . Drug Store News . Lebhar-Friedman, Inc. . 3 . 15 . 14 . 0191-7587 . Factiva drsn000020011031dp7q00082. ..
  37. News: Business Briefs . . June 22, 1993 . B4 . .
  38. News: Perry takes its medicine . Halliday . Jean . . 10 . 18 . May 2, 1994 . 2 . .
  39. News: Rx: Drive-through . Deck . Cecilia . . October 1, 1994 . A13 . .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Perry Drug Stores".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.