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Founded by Murray Koffler in 1962.1
Early years (1962–1986)
At the age of twenty, Murray Koffler inherited two Koffler's Drugs pharmacies from his father, Leon Koffler, the original at 376 College Street and a second store on Bathurst Street north of St. Clair Avenue West. Koffler also opened a suburban location at Don Mills Centre on the advice of E.P. Taylor. By 1962, Koffler's had grown to a chain of 17 pharmacies, which he renamed "Shoppers Drug Mart" in the 1970s. The first store named "Shoppers Drug Mart" was at Shoppers World Danforth from which it derived the name.
Koffler revamped the concept of the 20th 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 1971, Shoppers Drug Mart purchased 87 Cunningham Drug Stores in British Columbia and Alberta. In 1972, Koffler and the Steinberg grocery chain together launched the Pharmaprix pharmacy chain in Quebec. Koffler later bought out Steinberg's 50% stake in 1979, to take full control of Pharmaprix. 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 1986, Shoppers Drug Mart also purchased the J.W. Crooks Pharmacy stores in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Mayor James White Crooks). In 1992, the company bought up the Western Canadian chain Pinder's Drugs, 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 opened.
Imasco era and expansion (1986–2013)
When Koffler retired in 1986, he sold the chain to Imasco. That same year, David Bloom, a former Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist, was appointed chief executive officer of the company. Bloom would lead the organization until retiring in 2001, having devoted a total of 35 years of service to the company. During David Bloom's tenure, Shoppers doubled its number of stores, quadrupled its sales and increased profit ten-fold. David Bloom also launched the Shoppers Optimum loyalty program in 2000.
In 2000, after Imasco Limited had been taken over by BAT Industries (formerly British American Tobacco), Shoppers was sold to a consortium of institutional investors including KKR, Bain Capital, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, CIBC Capital Partners and Shoppers Drug Mart's senior management and pharmacist/owners.
In 2001, Glenn Murphy was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of the company. In November of that same year, Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation was publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In 2002, Shoppers Drug Mart introduced its first large format stores, with more space and a stronger focus on cosmetic products. Typically the cosmetics section faces the entrance, with the pharmacy counter at the back and a convenience food section, called Food Essentials, near the front cash. 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.
On April 26, 2007, the 1000th Shoppers Drug Mart store opened in Toronto, Ontario.
In recent years, the chain has been moving to decrease its reliance on pharmaceutical sales and increase sales on food and cosmetics. The store claims that in 2012, it increased its market share in food and that 51% of purchases now come from non-pharmaceutical items.
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Loblaw Companies ownership (2013–present)
On July 15, 2013, Loblaw Companies announced that it would acquire Shoppers Drug Mart for $12.4 billion, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. The deal was approved by the Competition Bureau on March 21, 2014, and completed on March 28, 2014. Prior to the sale to Loblaws, U.S.-based Walgreens had considered acquiring Shoppers Drug Mart in the past.
As a result of the merger, Loblaw began to stock its President's Choice and No Name store brands at Shoppers Drug Mart locations. Likewise, Shoppers' "Life" brand products began to be stocked in Loblaw grocery stores. The company also extended a pilot of introducing additional grocery products (including produce) at selected stores.
In Summer 2018, Shoppers Drug Mart opened its flagship Toronto, Ontario location at Yonge-Dundas Square (now Sankofa Square) in the space formerly occupied by Hard Rock Cafe.
In September 2018, Health Canada approved the chain as a licensed medical marijuana producer. The company does not intend to actually produce the product but had signed supply arrangements with companies such as Aurora Cannabis, Aphria, Inc., MedReleaf Corp. (owned by Aurora) and Tilray Inc., pending approval of its application for a license. On 17 October 2018, cannabis became legal for recreational use across Canada, but Shoppers has not given any indication that it has an interest in recreational sales. Its parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., had applied to (and won the right to) sell the product for such use in Newfoundland and Labrador.
From Wikipedia’s article on Shoppers Drug Mart, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4