Genovese Drug Stores

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Genovese Drug Stores
IndustryPharmacy
Founded1924; 100 years ago (1924)
DefunctSold: 1998; 26 years ago (1998)
Brand retired: 2003; 21 years ago (2003)
FateAcquired by Eckerd
HeadquartersMelville, New York
ProductsPharmacy, Cosmetics, Health and Beauty Aids, General Merchandise, Snacks

Genovese Drug Stores was a pharmacy chain with stores in New York City, Long Island, northern New Jersey, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Hartford County, Connecticut. It was acquired by JCPenney in 1998 and merged with its Eckerd Corporation subsidiary.

History[edit]

Genovese Drug Stores was founded in 1924 by Joseph Genovese in Astoria, Queens.[1]

In 1955, Joseph W. Genovese Jr., the son of the founder and the chairman of the board, introduced self‐service in the chain.[2]

By 1978, the chain had 50 locations.[3]

The company opened its first Manhattan location in 1993.[4] That year, it also opened its 100th store.[5]

In January 1998, the company closed 5 stores and cut 11% of its workforce due to declining profitability.[6]

In November 1998, the chain was acquired by JC Penney for $432 million in stock and the assumption of $60 million in debt. At that time, the chain was headquartered in Melville, New York and had 141 stores with 5,000 employees.[1] It was still almost entirely owned by the Genovese family.[7]

By 2003, all of the stores were rebranded as Eckerd, which was later rebranded as Rite Aid in 2006.[8]

In 2023, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[9] Despite Genovese Drug Stores shutting down 20 years prior to Rite Aid's bankruptcy filing, Genovese Drug Stores was still listed in the filing.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Terry Pristin (November 25, 1998). "J.C. Penney to Buy Genovese, Expanding Its Drugstore Chain". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Joseph, Genovese Jr, 46, Head of Drugstore Chain". The New York Times. December 16, 1975.
  3. ^ "Joseph Genovese, Head Of Drugstore Chain, 75". The New York Times. November 28, 1978.
  4. ^ Deutsch, Claudia H. (December 25, 1994). "Commercial Property/Chain Drugstores; Drugstore Chains Turn to Manhattan". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Genovese Drug opens 100th new store". United Press International. October 5, 1993.
  6. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; GENOVESE DRUG TO SHED 5 STORES AND CUT 600 JOBS". The New York Times. Reuters. January 31, 1998.
  7. ^ "Genovese Drug Stores 1998 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  8. ^ "Eckerd retires Genovese name".
  9. ^ "Rite Aid files for bankruptcy". CNN. October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "Genovese Drug Stores, Inc. Files For Bankruptcy". BKData. October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.