- Herbert Haft
Herbert H. Haft (
1920 -September 1 ,2004 ) was aWashington, D.C. based businessman who was famous first for the development ofdiscount store s in thedrug store ,bookstore , andauto part businesses, and later as acorporate raid er. He grew up inBaltimore, Maryland , the son of a Russian-immigrantpharmacist .Trained as a
pharmacist atGeorge Washington University , Haft opened the firstDart Drug discount store in 1955 in Washington, which he sold in 1984 at which time the chain had 75 stores. He also founded (with family members)Crown Books (which was led by son Robert),Trak Auto ,Combined Properties , andTotal Beverage , and acquired part ofShoppers Food Warehouse .Haft's
Dart Group earned $250 million throughgreenmail and stock sales during unsuccessful takeover attempts of retailers Safeway andStop & Shop . In the 1990s he was involved in widely publicized conflict with his sons Ronald andRobert Haft , and wifeGloria Haft over control of the Dart Group, afamily business .In a 1986 speech to a group of
George Washington University alumni, Haft said that the secret of his success, was to borrow big: "If you owe someone several thousand dollars, you can't always sleep at night. If you owe someone several million dollars, the banker or supplier can't sleep. It's no use both of you worrying."In 1998,
Total Beverage was sold toTotal Wine & More and the remainder of Dart Group, except Crown Books, was purchased byRichfood , a grocery distributor for $200 million. Richfood quickly soldTrak Auto to a Tennessee investment group.Crown Books filed for bankruptcy, and limped along on private investment until its closure in 2001.In 1999, Herbert Haft launched
HealthQuick , an online pharmacy, while his son Robert launchedVitamins.com . HealthQuick failed by 2001.Antitrust case
In a famous
antitrust case,Parke-Davis & Co. , threatened to stop supplying Haft's Dart Drug because of its discounts to customers, a court case that went to theUnited States Supreme Court , which found in favor of the retailer and against the supplier.Haft now rests at King David Memorial Gardens / National Memorial Park,
Falls Church, Virginia .References
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_12_26/ai_n6221339 Discount visionary Haft dies from heart disease] , Drug Store News,
September 27 ,2004 by James Frederick.
* [http://www.bizforward.com/wdc/issues/2001-05/drugstore/ Drugstore Cowboys: The Haft Family Rebuilds after an E-commerce Shootout] . Washington Business Forward by Rachel L. Dodes.
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