Farmacias El Amal

Farmacias El Amal, is regional pharmacy chain operating throughout Puerto Rico. It operates more than 40 pharmacies across Puerto Rico. The chain is privately held and was founded in 1973.

Farmacias El Amal stores also contain cosmetics, photo departments as well as a basic pantry department. Farmacias El Amal is best known for its Pasaporte a la Salud Loyalty Card and aggressive promotions including their Black Friday Sales. Its largest competitors are Walgreen Co., Kmart, and Walmart.

History

This chain started out as a single drugstore in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico in 1973. The chain slowly expanded throughout the 1970s and 1980s by opening several additional drugstores mostly in the Carolina and San Juan metropolitan areas. By 1994, the chain had grown to 12 drugstores. During the '80s and '90s, Farmacias El Amal were characterized by their unique aisle layout (a diagonal V) and above average square footage.

In 1995, Farmacias El Amal acquired Farmacias Moscoso, increasing its store count to 45 drugstores. The company proceeded to modernize its store base, installing POS and Pharmacy systems. The company also remodeled, relocated and opened many new stores throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Today, the chain has 60 locations across Puerto Rico.

On January 17, 2008, Walgreens acquired 20 drugstores from Farmacias El Amal. El Amal will continue operating its other 41 stores in Puerto Rico. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and it is subject to customary closing conditions. Once the agreement is finalized, work will begin on converting the El Amal stores to Walgreens, including remodeling and changing the store names.

On February 19, 2011, El Amal drugstore chain ceased operations.

External links

• Bnet Research