- Mercury Drug
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Mercury Drug is the leading chain of drugstores in the Philippines.
Contents
History
The company began in 1945 with a single store owned by Mariano Que. He named it after Mercury, the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology and whose staff, the caduceus, is sometimes used as a symbol of medicine.
A blister pack sold in the "tingi-tingi" method
In 1945, Mercury Drug cut packaged bulk items into individual pieces. It was called "tingi-tingi" or the selling-by-piece-retail method.
In 1963, upon the invitation of Ayala Corporation, Mercury Drug opened its second branch in May 1963 at a developing commercial center in Makati (now known as the Ayala Center).
In 1965, Mercury Drug established its landmark branch in Quiapo, Manila.
Innovations
It introduced many "firsts" in the Philippine drugstore industry:
- 1948: Motorized customer delivery service
- 1952: 17-hour, 7 days a week drugstore service
- 1963: Self-service drugstore
- 1965: 24-hours, 7 days a week service
- 1967: Computerized temperature-controlled central warehouse
- 1969: Biological refrigerators to preserve life-saving medicines
- 1976: Expansion throughout Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
- 2011: University of Luzon (una sa lahat)
Bibliography
References
External links
Categories:- Retail companies of the Philippines
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