Rexall

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Rexall

Type	Private
Industry	Drugs and Pharmacies
Founded	Boston, MA. (1902)
Products	Drugs
Website	http://www.rexall.com

Rexall was a chain of North American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1902, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across the United States from 1920 to 1977. (The "Rex" in the name came from the common Rx abbreviation for drug prescriptions.)

Since 1985, it has been the name of over-the-counter drugs and drugstores in Canada operated by the Katz Group of Companies, and of health supplements in the United States.

Founding

In 1902, Louis K. Liggett persuaded 40 independent drug stores to invest $4,000 in a retailers' cooperative called United Drug Stores, which sold products under the Rexall name. After World War I, the cooperative established a franchise arrangement whereby independently owned retail outlets adopted the Rexall trade name and sold Rexall products. The company was based in Boston, in an area now occupied by Northeastern University.

Rexall Train

The Rexall Train of March to November 1936 toured the United States and Canada to promote Rexall drug store products, and to provide the equivalent of a national convention for local Rexall druggists without the cost of travel. Free tickets for locals to see displays of Rexall products were available at local Rexall drug stores. The 29,000 mile tour went to 47 of the 48 contiguous states (missing Nevada) and to parts of Canada. The blue and white train of 12 air-conditioned Pullman cars with displays in 4 cars, convention facilities in 4 cars and a dining car was hauled by a streamlined 4-8-2 Mohawk locomotive, No 2783 from the New York Central Railroad. It was the million dollar brainchild of Louis Liggett, who travelled in the rear observation car.

Growth

Rexall Drug Store at Rock Rapids, Iowa, 2006

Justin Whitlock Dart, formerly of the Walgreens drugstore chain, took control of Boston-based United Drug Company in 1943. The chain operated under the Liggett, Owl, Sonta, and Rexall brands, which Dart rebranded under the Rexall name.

Rexall gained national exposure through its sponsorship of two famous classic American radio programs of the 1940s and 1950s: Amos and Andy and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. Both shows were often opened by an advertisement from an actor (Griff Barnett) portraying "your Rexall family druggist", and included the catch phrase "Good health to all from Rexall." They also sponsored the Jimmy Durante Show and there are references by the character Mr. Peavey in some of The Great Gildersleeve radio shows. Rexall also sponsored "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" starring Dick Powell from April 1950 until Camel replaced Rexall as the sponsor after the December 6, 1950 broadcast.

In 1946, United-Rexall Drug Inc. purchased the Renfro chain in Texas. It also launched the Owl Superstores chain. In 1947, the company held a gala opening for their new headquarters and first store in Los Angeles, California. The new Hollywood Owl was reported in Life Magazine as 'the World's Biggest Drugstore'.^[1] In 1958, the Rexall Drug Company was the largest U.S. drug store franchise, with 11,158 stores (for comparison, there are fewer than 12,000 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. today). Time Magazine noted that 2/3 of its stores were in areas where 1/3 of the population lived. However, this comprised more than 20% of all drug stores in the United States.

Dart sold his stake in Rexall in 1978. Dart had acquired stakes in West Bend, Duracell, Hobart Corporation, Tupperware, Ralph Wilson Plastics, and Archer Glass, which were collectively known as Dart Industries.

Decline

By the late 1950s, Rexall's business model of unitary franchised stores, with each store owned independently by the local pharmacist, was already coming under attack by the discount chains, such as Thrifty Drug and Eckerd. These well-financed corporate entities were able to drive down costs by means of block purchasing, and were focused on growth. By 1977, the value of the Rexall business had deteriorated to the point that it was sold to private investors for $16 million. The investors divested the company owned stores, though existing franchise retailers were able to keep the Rexall name. However, these tended to be weaker stores, and very few kept the name as time progressed. The company did continue to distribute vitamins, health foods, and plastic items.

Across the United States there are still franchise retailers still using the Rexall name.^[2]

In the early 1980s, Rexall, headed by Howard K. Vander Linden, a third-generation Rexall employee, was the subject of a hostile takeover by an organization headed by Larry Brown.^{[citation needed]} The company almost immediately slid into decline.

Rexall-Sundown

Sundown, a maker of sunscreens, acquired the Rexall trademark in 1985 and continued to produce nutritional supplements and remedies under the new name Rexall-Sundown, with no relationship to the remaining chain of Rexall drugstores, nor to the Canadian maker of medicines and sundries. Numico acquired Rexall Sundown in 2000.Numico split up the Rexall divisions and divested them in 2003, selling the name Rexall-Sundown to NBTY, a US vitamin company, and the Unicity Network division was to be sold to Activated Holdings^[3], a privately held company. The deal fell through and Unicity Network was sold to its management.

Dollar General and Rexall

In March 2010 Dollar General announced that it would be one of the exclusive retailers for Rexall-branded products. Customers can find various Rexall products in several of the retailer's categories, including over-the-counter medication, dental care, vitamins and supplements, foot care and first aid.

Sports venues

Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada is the home of both the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, and the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League. The Katz Group of Companies, which operates Rexall and Rexall PharmaPLus pharmacies and sells Rexall products in Canada, purchased the naming rights to the arena. Daryl Katz, head of the Katz Group, is the owner of the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club. The Rexall Centre tennis courts are in Toronto, Ontario also in Canada. Rexall is also the title sponsor of the Rexall Edmonton Indy IndyCar race at Edmonton City Centre Airport.

References

1. ^ Life 13 October 1947 p.59-60
2. ^ Forgotten-NY: Subways & Trains: Stations of the S.I.R.T.
3. ^ Ransom, Lou. "GNC drops ephedra, signals recovery". Pittsburgh Tribune. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_132515.html. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 

• The Rexall Story: A History of Genius and Neglect by Mickey C. Smith ISBN 0-7890-2472-1

External links

• 1958 Time Magazine article
• 1946 Time Magazine article
• 1949 Time Magazine article
• Rexall-Sundown history
• The Rexall Tradition
• Katz Group launches nationwide integration, branding campaign - PharmAssist - Drug Store News
• Rexall family of pharmacies
• Rexall Brand
• Meditrust Pharmacy
• The United Drug Company records, n.d. are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
• The Rexall Train; article, photo and map at ThemeTrains.com
• The Rexall Train at Fez City, Toronto (article and photo)