| Type | Public (TSX: SC) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Drugstore, Retail |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | David M. Williams, Interim President & Chief Executive Officer |
| Products | Drugs, Health |
| Revenue | $10.376 billion CAD (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | $897.0 million CAD (2010)[1] |
| Net income | $590.7 million CAD (2010)[1] |
| Website | www.shoppersdrugmart.ca |
| References: Number of Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores: 1,241 Number of Home Health Care stores: 63 |
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Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation (TSX: SC) is Canada's largest pharmacy chain with more than 1,241 stores operating under the names Shoppers Drug Mart in nine provinces and two territories and Pharmaprix in Quebec as well as in Hawkesbury, Ontario.
Founded by Murray Koffler, the Koffler family still retains ownership of the Super-Pharm pharmacy which is in Israel, Poland, and China, and uses the same logo as Shoppers Drug Mart and some of the same private-label brands, such as Life Brand and Quo.
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Shoppers Drug Marts are full-service pharmacies, located in prime locations in every province and two territories, and the chain claims to be the most convenient retail chain in Canada.
Core pharmacy services such as prescription dispensing and patient counseling are operated under the "HealthWatch" sub-brand. Most Shoppers locations also sell over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, cosmetics and fragrances – including several high-end "prestige" brands – and other everyday-use general merchandise. Shoppers Drug Mart includes two types of cosmetic departments: Beauty Boutique and regular cosmetic departments, each with trained, Shoppers Drug Mart certified, Cosmeticians availible. [1], is an online magazine featuring tips and recommended products of Shoppers Drug Mart beauty experts. The chain has a number of private labels, most visibly their flagship Life brand for everyday products ranging from drugs to food. Other private label brands unique to Shoppers include Quo (cosmetics), get (stationery), and Nativa (organic foods). As the company states, the stores combine "Health, Beauty and Convenience" in their design. Newer format stores include at least five food aisles, a healthy living section, a cosmetics centre, a Carlton Cards aisle, an Easypix digital centre/photolab and a full selection of over-the-counter drugs and health products. Some stores have a full service Canada Post office. Select Shoppers Drug Marts have lottery terminals available and tobacco. Shoppers Drug Marts hours vary, many are open to 10, mid-night or 24 hours for shopping convenience.
At the age of twenty, Murray Koffler inherited two Koffler's Drugs pharmacies in suburban Toronto (one in the Don Mills Centre shopping mall). By 1962, Koffler's had grown to a chain of 17 pharmacies, which he renamed "Shoppers Drug Mart" in the 1970's.
Koffler revamped the concept of the twentieth century “drug store” in Canada by removing the soda fountain and emphasizing the dispensary, requiring his pharmacists to wear starched white coats as a symbol of their professionalism. In the mid-1950s, he began acquiring other drug stores and organized them around a then-novel franchising concept: pharmacist “associates” would own and operate their own stores within the system and share in the profits. In 1968, Shoppers Drug Mart grew to 52 stores in Ontario by merging with 33 Plaza Drugstores. In 1970, Shoppers Drug Mart purchased 100 Cunningham Drug Stores in British Columbia and Alberta. 1972 marked the grand opening of the first Pharmaprix store in Québec. In 1974, Lord’s Supervalue Pharmacies 26 stores in Atlantic Canada joined the Shoppers Drug Mart family. In 1986 Shoppers Drug Mart bought Super X Drugstores, an Ontario-area chain of 72 stores. In 1993 the company bought up a chain of ten drugstores called Pinder Stores, and followed this in 1995 with a chain of 24 Bi-Rite Drug Stores based in western Canada. Also in 1995, Shoppers Drug Mart acquired 135 Big V Drugstores. In 1996, the first Shoppers Home Health Care store opens.
When Koffler retired in 1983, he sold the chain to Imasco, formerly Imperial Tobacco (Canada), at that time Canada's largest tobacco company.
For the summer of 2010, Desmond Maloney was the CEO. His leadership prompted the creation of store-branded trademarks including HealthWatch, PharmExpert, Life Brand, Quo, Rialto and Shoppers Optimum (see below). Each of these have become Canadian household names. During the early 1990s, the company purchased the Western Canada based Pinder's Drugs and re-branded all Pinder's stores into Shoppers Drug Mart.
In 2000, after Imperial Tobacco had been taken over by BAT Industries (formerly British American Tobacco), Shoppers was sold to a consortium of institutional investors including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Bain Capital, Inc., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, CIBC Capital Partners, and Shoppers Drug Mart's senior management and pharmacist/owners. Since then, the chain has gone public through an initial public offering.
Shortly after the 2000 takeover, Shoppers revamped its brand and created a new concept store with more space, a sleek and modern look, and a stronger focus on higher-margin cosmetic products. Typically the cosmetics section faces the entrance, with the pharmacy counter at the back and a large convenience foods section near the checkout counters. In most suburban areas, this new format takes the form of new or relocated store, typically stand-alone "big-box" locations as opposed to smaller mall or strip-mall locations. In 2004, Shoppers started carrying Apple iPods and accessories. They also carried digital cameras. Shoppers stopped carrying Apple iPods in 2006 after Apple announced they were unable to supply the demand. Shoppers Drug Mart Easypix Digital Centres now carry Sandisk MP3 players.
On April 26, 2007, Shoppers Drug Mart #1000 opened in Toronto, Ontario.[2]
The Shoppers Optimum Card is a fidelity program that is exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart and Home Health Care stores. Any customer can apply for one to then collect points that may be redeemed in exchange of a credit for almost anything in the store. A customer receives 10 points for every dollar spent at the store. This excludes the purchase of lottery, tobacco products, transit tickets and passes, prescription items, any products containing codeine, Canada Post products and gift cards (except Shoppers gift cards). Sometimes, Shoppers Drug Mart organizes special point events where customers receive 20 times the regular points when they spend a certain amount. In 2006, the company introduced Secret Point Events. Optimum Card holders receive in the mail a flyer announcing the secret event prior to the announced date. They bring that flyer in on the secret day to obtain 20 times the regular points. Only online registered card holders receive the flyer.
Beginning Fall 2008, Shoppers began a supplementary program called Shoppers Optimum PLUS where loyal members of the store (defined as those who earned 15,000 regular points in a calendar year) enjoy additional benefits such as special points redemption schemes and more bonus points opportunities.[3]
(1) Member of Audit Committee
(2) Member of Human Resources and Compensation Committee
(3) Member of Nominating and Governance Committee